regex over files

[Robin Becker]

Jeremy Bowers wrote:
.....
> 
> As you try to understand mmap, make sure your mental model can take into
> account the fact that it is easy and quite common to mmap a file several
> times larger than your physical memory, and it does not even *try* to read
> the whole thing in at any given time. You may benefit from
> reviewing/studying the difference between virtual memory and physical
> memory.
I've been using vm systems for 30 years and I suspect my mental model is a bit 
decrepit. However, as convincingly demonstrated by testing my mental model seems 
able to predict low memory problems. When systems run out of memory they tend to 
perform poorly. I'm not sure the horrible degradation I see with large files is 
necessary, but I know it occurs on at least one common vm implementation.
-- 
Robin Becker