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From: mayer@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM (Niels Mayer)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Performance (also an R5 Toolkit Wish)
Message-ID: <5857@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM>
Date: 28 Aug 90 19:31:33 GMT
References: <1141@phcisa.UUCP> <5354@harrier.ukc.ac.uk>
Reply-To: mayer@hplabs.hp.com (Niels Mayer)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Labs, Software & Systems Lab, Palo Alto, CA.
Lines: 39
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In article <5354@harrier.ukc.ac.uk> rlh2@ukc.ac.uk (Richard Hesketh) writes:
>In article <1141@phcisa.UUCP>, frans@phcisa.UUCP (Francois Staes) writes: 
>|> Can smoebody tell me where I can find such a fast memory allocator ?
>|> Can I simply use the malloc.c file as distributed with e.g. emacs ?
>
>Yes this seems to work just fine.  Infact it is *extremely* quicker when a
>large number of widgets need to be created.

I have also found similar improvements when I use HP's -lmalloc
(malloc(3X)) in Xtoolkit-based programs.

Which other machines have a "fast malloc library" as part of their standard
Un*x libraries? I'm particularly interested in (not necessarily in order of
interest):
	(1) Sun, (2) DEC RISC, (3) MIPS, (4) Data General Aviion, (5) Apollo

> Here comes the wish then ... how about a malloc written just for Xt and included
> in the R5 release?  I wouldn't want to say "just use the GNU malloc" because
> of copyright restrictions.

What about the andrew malloc library?? It has an MIT X Consortium style
copyright. It is located in X11r4:contrib/toolkits/andrew/overhead/malloc

I did notice the following warning from the file malloc.help:
| The current incarnation of the allocator is unsuitable for direct use in a 
| large virtual environment where many small blocks are to be kept, since it 
| keeps all allocated and freed blocks on a single circular list.  Just before 
| more memory is allocated, all allocated and freed blocks are referenced; this 
| can cause a huge number of page faults.
| 

???

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	    Niels Mayer -- hplabs!mayer -- mayer@hplabs.hp.com
		  Human-Computer Interaction Department
		       Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
			      Palo Alto, CA.
				   *