Incremental class unloading in a train-algorithm-based garbage collector

摘要

A garbage collector collects a train-managed heap in accordance with the train algorithm. In doing so, it concentrates into a respective train the heap-located objects that belong to garbage cycles even if those cycles additionally include certain types of objects that are outside the train-managed heap. It does so by using objects within the heap as proxies for those extra-heap objects, and it evacuates into a proxy object's train any collection-set objects referred to by the extra-heap objects for which the proxy object is a proxy. The objects in those garbage cycles containing the extra-heap objects can thereby be collected incrementally despite the extra-heap references to them.