dynamic library cost (was RE: libtool, java woes)

Fri Apr 13 08:09:00 GMT 2001

<<Seems like the compiler would have to emit a ton of debugging information
to specify the contents of each word of the stack frame at each PC
location
within the program. Wading through all this mess in a GC would likely be
more costly than just conservatively scanning the stacks.
>>
Well there is also the concern that in a language like C, type accurate
scanning is not possible (because of free unions), so you still end up
with conservative guesses in any case, and there is some question as to
whether there is enough gain. Yes, it is definitely a gain to go to
a 100% type accurate solution (as would be possible with a language like
Java or Ada), since then you can count on no memory leaks, but if you
only go part way, it is not clear that it is worth it.