Summary
An algorithm is given for on-the-fly garbage collection in the presence of several mutators. It uses two colours and is a generalization of Ben-Ari's algorithm (1984). The correctness proof is based on the lexical orderings of several tuples of state space functions. It is shown that in a certain sense the algorithm is optimal. Three variations of the algorithm are given and proved correct. In the case that there is only one mutator one of these variations closely resembles a well-known incorrect algorithm.
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Jan E. Jonker was born in 1943. He received his Master's degree in Theoretical Physics in 1968 and his Master's degree in Computing Science in 1989, both from the University of Groningen. From 1968 until 1976 he did research on the electronic structure of dilute impurities in iron. From 1976 until 1989 he did research on the medical aspects of road accidents. Currently, he is assistant professor at the University of Groningen. His main research interests are programming methodology, parallel computations and delay-insensitive circuit design.
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Jonker, J.E. On-the-fly garbage collection for several mutators. Distrib Comput 5, 187–199 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02277666
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02277666