From: Nat Pryce <nat.pryce@...13media.com>
Date: 2002-05-26T22:27:29+09:00
Subject: Re: Stymied by Ruby's garbage collector

From: "Sean O'Dell" <sean@BUHBYESPAMcelsoft.com>
>> [discussion on finalisers snipped]
> Yeah, I know...[a finaliser is] not the same thing [as a destructor].  I
hope we get real destructors
> one day.

Why is it not the same thing?  Finaliser closures can do everything that
C++ destructors can do, and avoid the problems that exist with
destructors, such as being able to make an object live again during its
finalisation (or leave dangling pointers in C++).

What would you want a destructor to do that cannot be performed with
finalisers?

Cheers,
            Nat.

________________________________
Dr. Nathaniel Pryce
B13media Ltd.
Studio 3a, Aberdeen Business Centre, 22/24 Highbury Grove, London, N5 2EA
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