From: Patrick Logan <patrickdlogan@...>
Date: 2001-05-22T14:11:25+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:15524] Re: Newbie GC question


"Yukihiro Matsumoto" <matz@zetabits.com> wrote
in message news:990502716.148950.3593.nullmailer@ev.netlab.zetabits.com...
>
> GC does not reclaim "unreferenced" symbols (because I couldn't
> define "unreferenced" status for symbols), so that symbol table never
> gets smaller.

Lisp systems have traditionally had a function (often called GCTWA) in order
to Garbage Collect Totally Worthless Atoms. (A symbol is one kind of atom in
Lisp.) Doing this takes a lot of effort, and so is made a deliberate action.

--
Patrick Logan
mailto:patrickdlogan@home.com