Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!mp.cs.niu.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!pequod.cso.uiuc.edu!dorner
From: dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: How to malloc memory VERY dynamically and not out of app heap?
Message-ID: <1991Mar27.203458.24039@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 27 Mar 91 20:34:58 GMT
References: <669949449.1@mmug.fidonet.org.org> <2029@seti.inria.fr>
Sender: usenet@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (News)
Organization: University of Illinois at U-C
Lines: 25

In article <2029@seti.inria.fr> pete@adele.inria.fr (Pete Keleher) writes:
>|> with lots of RAM won't go for a text processer which needs really
>|> huge amounts of memory just so the entire file can be in RAM at the
>|> same time.
>
>I disagree. You are saying that each application should manage its own
>virtual memory. It is precisely to avoid this that we have
>application-independant virtual memory supported by the system. If you want
>to read a 10meg file, read into memory and let the system page it on and
>off of disk.

Wrong several counts.  First, it takes a while to read 10 meg into memory;
users don't want to wait for it.  Second, it takes a ton of disk for all those
(probably useless anyway) pages.  Third, an application can be smart about
anticipating a user's needs; a paging system cannot be nearly so smart.

>I agree totally with earlier comments to the effect that the the ability to
>dynamically change your address space size is a major lack of 7.0.

Not if you really go gung-ho for your 'swapping is wonderful' thesis;
just give everybody 20 or 30 meg of virtual space, and 'let the system
page it on and off of disk'.
--
Steve Dorner, U of Illinois Computing Services Office
Internet: s-dorner@uiuc.edu  UUCP: uunet!uiucuxc!uiuc.edu!s-dorner