Garbage collection of an object

Abstract

One or more embodiments are directed to creating a structure comprising a weak reference to an object, a strong reference to the object, a count of remote references to the object, and an identifier for the object, incrementing the count when a remote reference is created to the object and decrementing the count when a remote reference is removed, setting the strong reference in response to the count being greater than a first threshold in order to avoid a garbage collection of the object, clearing the strong reference in response to the count being less than a second threshold to enable a garbage collection of the object, and removing the structure and related resources based on a recognition of the object's collection through the weak reference.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]The present disclosure relates generally to garbage collection in a computing environment, and more specifically, to garbage collection of an object that may be referenced remotely.[0002]In distributed programming environments, a program can utilize multiple computers or computing devices, each of which may be referred to as a “place.” An object may be created or initialized at a first place, and the first place may point to the object using a local reference. That same object may be referenced from one or more additional places, and such reference(s) may be referred to as remote reference(s).[0003]In a computing environment, garbage collection may be used to reclaim resources (e.g., memory) occupied by one or more objects that are no longer in use by, e.g., a program. To garbage-collect a remotely-referenced object, it may be necessary to check that both local and remote references are deleted or eliminated. Such a check might not be easy when a first or upper-level...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present patent provides an apparatus and method for garbage collection in a computer system. It involves creating a structure with a weak reference to an object, a strong reference to the object, a count of remote references to the object, and an identifier of the object. The system uses this structure to manage references to objects placed in different programming language environments, allowing for efficient garbage collection based on various criteria. The technical effects of this patent include improved memory utilization, reduced garbage collection, and improved program performance.

Problems solved by technology

Such a check might not be easy when a first or upper-level language is implemented on a second or lower-level language by using the garbage collector of the second language.

Conversely, if the garbage collector is implemented in the first or upper-level language, it may degrade the execution performance and interoperability with the second or lower-level language.

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