[OT] BASIC and GC (was: Why isn't multiple inheritance very useful?)

From: Stewart Gordon (smjg_1998_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 01/25/05

  • Next message: shez: "Re: How to add "/*" in C++ comments?" 
    Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:51:07 +0000

    Jerry Coffin wrote:
    > Stewart Gordon wrote:
    <snip>
    >> Two options come to mind:
    >> - use GC, copy on write (maybe this is one instance in which
    >> reference counting would be the more efficient option)
    >
    > Reference counting isn't an alternative to reference counting --

    Whoever suggested that it should be?

    Or is that a typo for "Reference counting isn't an alternative to
    garbage collection" or vice versa? Again, I didn't mean to imply that
    it was. Simply that reference counting might be the optimal method
    (over mark-sweep or whatever) of GC in this instance. As the copying
    can be skipped when the count is 1, saving some of the reallocation
    overhead during string manipulations.

    <snip>
    > The bottom line: BASIC strings were designed with GC in mind, and
    > essentially virtually every BASIC implementation ever has used
    > exactly that. Theoretically there may be other options, but none of
    > this changes the intent of the original design, nor the fact that the
    > majority of BASIC implementations _have_ used GC. It is true that
    > there have been quite a few BASIC interpreters, but it's also true
    > that it was designed to be compiled, and many implementations have
    > done exactly that.

    I see. But now that some BASICs have dynamic arrays and even partial
    OOP support, I guess GC in BASIC is taken to a new level.

    Stewart. 

    -- 
My e-mail is valid but not my primary mailbox.  Please keep replies on 
the 'group where everyone may benefit.
  • Next message: shez: "Re: How to add "/*" in C++ comments?"

    Relevant Pages

    • Re: Hello and *++* ?
      ... Ah, a terminology dispute. ... I was thinking of the BASICs of our youth. ... It was my first programming language, ...
      (comp.lang.c)
    • Re: For Your Amusement
      ... Whilesome professors are ... - historically BASICs have been the language that people who have a ... VB.NET is not filling that gap ...
      (microsoft.public.vb.general.discussion)
    • Re: As the Crow flies.
      ... Because you can't comprehend the basics. ... If your code is faster than mine, and can be shown to execute in ...
      (talk.origins)
    • Re: For Your Amusement
      ... >- historically BASICs have been the language that people who have a ... the language for analysts who want to write their own code ... >VB.NET is not filling that gap ...
      (microsoft.public.vb.general.discussion)
    • Re: C++/CLI is the way to go
      ... class MyClass {... ... type would need to check whether or not reference counting was ... That's a painful performance hit. ...
      (microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.csharp)