Patent ID: 7716450

Claim:
A method of reclaiming memory space allocated for one or more target objects, the method comprising the steps of: initiating a duty cycle in response to at least one of: (a) detecting user input in a local application or (b) being asked, at a local machine, by a remote machine, to perform an activity on behalf of the remote machine; in response to initiating the duty cycle, creating an autorelease object; creating a target object and a reference counter, said reference counter specifying a number of references to said target object; retaining said target object within said autorelease pool; in response to retaining said target object within said autorelease pool, incrementing said reference counter; disposing of said autorelease object; wherein said disposing of said autorelease object causes decrementing said reference counter; and based on said reference counter, reclaiming memory space allocated for said target object; wherein the steps are performed by one or more computing devices.