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Dynamic storage allocation: A survey and critical review

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Memory Management (IWMM 1995)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 986))

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Abstract

Dynamic memory allocation has been a fundamental part of most computer systems since roughly 1960, and memory allocation is widely considered to be either a solved problem or an insoluble one. In this survey, we describe a variety of memory allocator designs and point out issues relevant to their design and evaluation. We then chronologically survey most of the literature on allocators between 1961 and 1995. (Scores of papers are discussed, in varying detail, and over 150 references are given.)

We argue that allocator designs have been unduly restricted by an emphasis on mechanism, rather than policy, while the latter is more important; higher-level strategic issues are still more important, but have not been given much attention.

Most theoretical analyses and empirical allocator evaluations to date have relied on very strong assumptions of randomness and independence, but real program behavior exhibits important regularities that must be exploited if allocators are to perform well in practice.

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under grant CCR-9410026, and by a gift from Novell, Inc.

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Author notes

  1. David Boles

    Present address: Convex Computer Corporation, Dallas, Texas, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 78751, Austin, Texas, USA

    Paul R. Wilson, Mark S. Johnstone, Michael Neely & David Boles

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  1. Paul R. Wilson
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  2. Mark S. Johnstone
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  3. Michael Neely
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  4. David Boles
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Correspondence to David Boles .

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Henry G. Baler

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© 1995 Springer-Verlag

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Wilson, P.R., Johnstone, M.S., Neely, M., Boles, D. (1995). Dynamic storage allocation: A survey and critical review. In: Baler, H.G. (eds) Memory Management. IWMM 1995. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 986. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-60368-9_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-60368-9_19

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-60368-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45511-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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