Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.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: Handles and Virtual Memory
Message-ID: <1989Dec29.134456.10395@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 29 Dec 89 13:44:56 GMT
References: <3875@atr-la.atr.co.jp> <4525@helios.ee.lbl.gov> <9415@hoptoad.uucp> <25471@cup.portal.com>
Sender: news@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (News)
Reply-To: dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lines: 17

In article <25471@cup.portal.com> ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) writes:
>Even if the heap size could be changed, handles are a nice thing to
>have under a VM system.  The ability to shuffle things around to
>compact (virtual) memory will make almost any memory allocation
>algorithm run better.

Handles are a pain for programmers; they clutter the code, making applications
not only harder to write, but harder to comprehend and debug.  That translates
into bugs, which either surface in finished applications, or delay the release
of nifty things.

I for one would rather see the VM system take a few more hits, and applications
have a few less bugs.  Down with handles!
-- 
Steve Dorner, U of Illinois Computing Services Office
Internet: s-dorner@uiuc.edu  UUCP: {convex,uunet}!uiucuxc!dorner
IfUMust:  (217) 244-1765