Any system that forces a single way of handling memory as the
only viable method, be it GC( as D currently does), or ARC, is
undesirable to me
Rust seems to have found a very nice model, and even cpp with
value/unique/rc/weak is IMO superior to what D currently offers
On Monday, 3 February 2014 at 22:51:50 UTC, Frank Bauer wrote:
Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
2. Work on Phobos to see what can be done about avoiding
unnecessary allocation. Most likely we'll need to also add a
@nogc flag.
...
4. Work on the core language and druntime to see how to
seamlessly accommodate alternate GC mechanisms such as
reference counting.
...
I thought I made it clear that GC avoidance (which includes
considering built-in reference counting) is a major focus of
2014.
Andrei
My apologies then. Not apologizing for stressing this point
over and over again, though :)
Just to steal some people's thunder: I want the GC to remain in
D as it is. This is not hyperbole or cynicism. I mean it.
Having the GC around to clean up after me for noncritical apps
is a blessing. Adding ARC and owning pointers would make my
(and others) day though.
BTW: Why is most everybody who doesn't like GC obsessed with
ARC pointers? I like them for where they are appropriate. But
what about a simpler owning pointer that frees automatically
when it goes out of scope. It comes at exactly zero runtime
cost, just as a "dumb" pointer. You don't have to drag a
reference count around with you. It is just a pointer in
memory. All its semantics are enforced at compile time. Throw
borrowed pointers in the mix, i.e. references to owning
pointers that become "frozen" while there are outstanding
references to them, and you're all set.
I think this would really be necessary (and sufficient!) to get
Rust off your back and whatever half baked language stuff MS is
intentionally leaking these days. At least IMHO and others from
the *vocal minority*.
I'm not quite sure that I understand what you mean by GC
avoidance being a major focus of 2014 though. In the long term,
can I look forward to writing an absolutely, like in 100 %,
like in guaranteed, GC free D app with all of current D's and
Phobos' features if I choose to? Or does it mean: well for the
most part it will avoid the GC, but if you're unlucky the GC
might still kick in if you don't pay attention and when you
least expect it?
