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From: kjones@talos.uucp (Kyle Jones)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: why does GNU Emacs not release memory
Summary: gnarly
Message-ID: <1989Oct26.150344.10013@talos.uucp>
Date: 26 Oct 89 15:03:44 GMT
References: <LYNN.89Oct24164609@rave.rave.phx.mcd.mot.com>
Reply-To: kjones@talos.uu.net
Lines: 14

In order for GNU Emacs to give memory back to the operating system, it
will be necessary to perform compaction.  This is because under most, if
not all UNIXes, you can only give memory back by adjusting the break,
that is, the end of a process' data segment.  You cannot give memory
back in disjoint bits and pieces.  It has to be contigous and adjacent
to the break.

If Emacs has to manage the break, this also means that Emacs has to be
intimitely intertwined with malloc and any C (and X!) library routines
that call malloc.

"Gnarly."

kyle jones   <kjones@talos.uu.net>   ...!uunet!talos!kjones