Patent ID: 6360233
Filing Date: 2002-03-19
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of memory management for use in data processing apparatuses, wherein a random-access memory contains a plurality of data objects, each said data object being at a respective known location within the memory and being accessed via respective pointers carried by memory stacks, the method comprising the steps of:periodically sweeping the memory to determine those data objects having no extent pointers thereto from any source; and transferring the blocks of memory space taken thereby to a free memory structure, with external requests for memory space being met by allocation from the free memory structure, wherein external requests for which there is insufficient memory available from the free memory structure are entered in a request list, with freed blocks of memory space being made available to the listed requests and only transferred to the free memory structure if not allocated to any listed request, and wherein one or more additional memory reclamation techniques are applied to the contents of the random access memory at the conclusion of a sweep with memory space recovered thereby being used to clear listed requests.