Combining Regions and Generational GC at PADL 2020
20 January 2020
Our paper On the Effects of Integrating Region-based Memory Management and Generational Garbage Collection in ML, with Niels Hallenberg, was accepted for presentation at PADL 2020 in New Orleans on January 20.
The compiler can reclaim many values using regions, while a garbage collector handles more dynamic memory behaviour. This paper investigates what happens when that collector also separates young and old objects into generations. Implemented in MLKit, the design uses region types to support partly tag-free collection and avoid write-barrier problems. Benchmarks compare the alternatives and show cases where regions and generations complement each other.