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Method of replication-based garbage collection in a multiprocessor system

  • US 6,430,580 B1
  • Filed: 06/25/1999
  • Issued: 08/06/2002
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1998
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. In a multiprocessing system comprising a plurality of processors, a memory divided into a current area (from-space) used by said processors during current program execution and a reserved area (to-space), and at least one garbage collector for performing a garbage collection of flipping the roles of said current area and reserved area after all the live objects stored in said current area have been copied into said reserved area and for reclaiming said current area after the flipping operation, and wherein several program threads (mutators) or the like are currently running in parallel and said garbage collector performs said garbage collection in parallel with said program threads, the flipping operation being performed after said program threads have been stopped and said garbage collection has been completed;

  • an improved method of replication-based garbage collection comprising the following steps;

    during normal program execution, each program thread storing a record in a local buffer allocated thereto each time said program thread updates a memory location, monitoring said local buffer to determine when it is full, and adding said local buffer when full to a global list of buffers using a first synchronization operation, and during garbage collection, said collector removing the local buffers one by one from said global list of buffers using a second synchronization operation, looping over records in each removed local buffer, and copying the updated memory locations into said reserved area until said global list is empty.

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