Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!sun-barr!decwrl!asente
From: asente@decwrl.dec.com (Paul Asente)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: GWM and DEC-Windows: Xlib bugged?
Message-ID: <1650@bacchus.dec.com>
Date: 5 Aug 89 17:15:55 GMT
References: <212@mirsa.inria.fr>
Organization: DEC Western Software Lab
Lines: 19

In article <212@mirsa.inria.fr> colas@mirsa.inria.fr (Colas NAHABOO) writes:
>(PS: DEC seems to do very strange things with the Xlib, especially they seem
>to have included a "malloc" in the xlib !!! Anyone from DEC can comment?)

It turns out that the default malloc wastes huge amounts of space when you
allocate memory that is a power of two bytes.  It adds in the size of the
header and then rounds up to the next power of two, thereby wasting almost
half the bucket.  Not surprisingly, lots of programs allocate things in
powers of two!  Our new malloc makes programs take considerably less
space.  Why didn't we just replace the system malloc?  Don't ask...

>This kind of problems may appear with GWM since it is an ICCCM compliant WM, 
>and DEC didn't bother with ICCCM in DEC windows. 

Geez!  The ICCCM came out after DECwindows!  We try to be responsive to
standards but we're not psychic, you know.

	-paul asente
	    asente@decwrl.dec.com	decwrl!asente