[Issue 2757] New: resource management in a timely manner

[d-bugmail at puremagic.com]

http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=2757

           Summary: resource management in a timely manner
           Product: D
           Version: 1.041
          Platform: PC
        OS/Version: Windows
            Status: NEW
          Keywords: spec
          Severity: enhancement
          Priority: P3
         Component: DMD
        AssignedTo: bugzilla at digitalmars.com
        ReportedBy: nick.barbalich at gmail.com


email 23 Mar 2009 from the D.d list. Subject : "Re: new D2.0 + C++ language".

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:16:07 -0600, Rainer Deyke wrote:

> > Sergey Gromov wrote:
>> >> I think this is an overstatement.  It's only abstract write buffers
>> >> where GC really doesn't work, like std.stream.BufferedFile.  In any
>> >> other resource management case I can think of GC works fine.
> > 
> > OpenGL objects (textures/shader programs/display lists).
> > SDL surfaces.
> > Hardware sound buffers.
> > Mutex locks.
> > File handles.
> > Any object with a non-trivial destructor.
> > Any object that contains or manages one of the above.
> > 
> > Many of the above need to be released in a timely manner. For example,
> > it is a serious error to free a SDL surface after closing the SDL video
> > subsystem, and closing the SDL video subsystem is the only way to close
> > the application window under SDL.  Non-deterministic garbage collection
> > cannot work.
> > 
> > Others don't strictly need to be released immediately after use, but
> > should still be released as soon as reasonably possible to prevent
> > resource hogging.  The GC triggers when the program is low on system
> > memory, not when the program is low on texture memory.
> > 
> > By my estimate, in my current project (rewritten in C++ after abandoning
> > D due to its poor resource management), about half of the classes manage
> > resources (directly or indirectly) that need to be released in a timely
> > manner.  The other 50% does not need RAII, but also wouldn't benefit
> > from GC in any area other than performance.

Thanks for the explanation, it really helps to keep this picture in
mind.


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