[Python-3000] Delayed reference counting idea

[Barry Warsaw]

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On Sep 19, 2006, at 12:05 PM, Brian Quinlan wrote:

> Marcin 'Qrczak' Kowalczyk wrote:
>> Brian Quinlan <brian at sweetapp.com> writes:
>>
>>>> Reference counting is inefficient, doesn't by itself handle cycles,
>>>> and is impractical to combine with threads which run in  
>>>> parallel. The
>>>> general consensus of modern language implementations is that a  
>>>> tracing
>>>> GC is the future.
>>> How is reference counting inefficient?
>
> Do somehow know that tracing GC would be more efficient for typical
> python programs or are you just speculating?

Also, what does "efficient" mean here?  Overall program run time?  No  
user-discernible pauses in operation?  Stinginess in overall memory use?

There are a lot of different efficiency parameters to consider, and  
of course different applications will care more about some than  
others.  A u/i-based tool doesn't want noticeable pauses.  A long  
running daemon wants manageable and predictable memory utilization.   
Etc.

- -Barry

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