Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!rutgers!cbmvax!darren
From: darren@cbmvax.commodore.com (Darren Greenwald)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re: ramdrive repacking
Message-ID: <19286@cbmvax.commodore.com>
Date: 25 Feb 91 15:57:30 GMT
References: <88002@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Reply-To: darren@cbmvax.commodore.com (Darren Greenwald)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA
Lines: 26

In article <88002@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> <meranda@iguana.cis.ohio-state.edu> writes:
>Does anyone know about any programs which can "repack" a ramdrive?
>
>I use my RAM: rather heavily and have noticed that my main memory
>becomes fragmented.  I have determined that most of the time this
>
>Since the ramdrive.device is not a "real" disk device, I have no
>idea of its storage format.  If a program does not already exist
>Thanks!
>
>Deron E. Meranda  ( meranda@cis.ohio-state.edu )

FYI:

	RAM: - the ram-handler (allocates memory dynamically; not a device).
	RAD: - the ramdrive.device (allocates a big chunk of contiguous memory)

So the answer to the original question is, RAD: doesn't have this problem,
but it eats up a big chunk of contiguous memory up-front.  RAM: can fragment
your memory, but it only uses what it needs.  A give, and take situation.
I suppose that a ram drive like RAM: could try to defragment itself, but
you can easily get into a no-win situation; you start trading off
non-contiguous chunks of memory for contiguous ones, and still end-up
eating large chunks of contiguous memory, leaving little ones free.

	---Darren---