[Mono-dev] Componentized memory manager

[Mark E.]

Hey guys,

I was about to send this suggestion to Maoni (of the .NET GC -
http://blogs.msdn.com/maoni/) and wanted to send it here first, if nothing
else, to make the idea less patentable by MS.

I would like for the whole memory manager system to be componentized and
replaceable. This would allow the user to choose what is the right approach
for their application. Then, if done well, third-parties could develop
alternate memory managers that were geared for specific purposes.

Here's my rationale:
1) In some scenarios, I want a memory manager with explicit finalization.
That is a priority in scenario A. I will take the performance hit to have
full reference counting and immediate finalization. The benefit to me is
better control of memory and RAM utilization.

2) I may want a Workstation version that is memory footprint priority.
Running on a Citrix server with 4GB RAM but needing to limit the app to 60MB
per client (by customer request) is nearly impossible. Either the customer's
request cannot be met or .NET Framework / Mono cannot be the platform.

3) I don't assume that MS will implement the best memory manager for me.
Make allowances for others to improve on it.


Potential issues against it:
1) If a memory manager could be replaced, I could re-implement one (or
modify an OpenSource one) to circumvent DRM. I can see that being why MS
won't do it.

2) Complexity of the integration.

3) Not a large enough perceived benefit/need.

What are your thoughts?

-Mark E.
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