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From: reaves@asb.com
Subject: Re: Garbage collection in VW2.5
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References: <Dw025o.FtE@news2.new-york.net> <4umfnq$1oq@mag6.magmacom.com>
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Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 00:18:54 GMT
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In <4umfnq$1oq@mag6.magmacom.com>, david@simberon.com (David Buck) writes:
--snip-->An object becomes "inactive" when no other object refers to 

it. >This means there's no path from Smalltalk to that object so it
>can be collected as garbage.
>
>eg.
>
>MyObject>>test
>   myInstVar := Array new: 5.
>   myInstVar := Set new.
>
>The variable 'myInstVar' is in MyObject which is an active object.
>(If it wasn't active, we wouldn't be able to run this method on it).
>When the array is assigned to myInstVar, it becomes an active object.
>When the set is assigned to myInstVar, the set becomes active but
>there's now no active variable in the system that points to the array
>so the array is garbage and gets garbage collected.
>
--snipp--

    This is an easy to understand example. Thank you.

