collectNoStack should be axed

[Steven Schveighoffer]

On Tuesday, 23 April 2024 at 07:38:25 UTC, cc wrote:
> On Sunday, 21 April 2024 at 19:28:11 UTC, Steven Schveighoffer 
> wrote:
>> If they don't get a printout, they post an angry/confused 
>> message on the forums saying
>>
>> ### Y U No work GC?
>
> If a user writes a destructor, and that destructor is never 
> called sometime after a `new`, then yes, I think "Why isn't the 
> GC working?" is a valid and fair question for that user to ask. 
>  I don't see any way in which that expectation should be 
> considered *unreasonable*. If the answer is "No you don't 
> understand, the GC internals such that this- that- and the 
> other thing- means you can't have guaranteed destructors", then 
> I'd say you've failed to make the sale and the customer is 
> right to walk away.

This is a property of ALL GCs, even Java does not guarantee 
finalizers will run.

I agree it's reasonable to ask such a question, and we get them 
all the time. The thing is, even if we do something as drastic as 
not scan live stacks for roots, you still may end up not seeing 
the destructor run. This is a fact of life for GC, and it's 
better to learn that fact than to try and fight it.

Typically, this is not a question of "why isn't my stuff getting 
cleaned up", it's more that they are trying to poke the GC to see 
if it's working (usually a small test program). I've done it 
too...

And ironically, collecting extra "live" blocks actually hides 
from people the true nature of GC and finalization. In truth, you 
should never *rely* on the GC to clean up anything but memory. 
Resources other than memory should be cleaned up synchronously 
when you are done with them, as they are far more rare than 
memory.

>
> As an aside, I would observe if one wants them to stay, one 
> probably shouldn't be in the habit of calling them "the 
> unwashed masses", either.

Sorry, it's just my dry humor. It was more intended as 
(good-natured) satire on Walter (I imagine him scoffing at the 
insolent nothings that complain about his perfect language) than 
an actual slight on the people asking.

-Steve