[Python-Dev] Cyclic GC issues

[Neil Schemenauer]

On Wed, Oct 13, 2004 at 07:54:04AM -0700, Jason Evans wrote:
> This brings up a question about documentation: as far as I know,
> I've read all of the available documentation regarding cyclic GC
> (the "Supporting cyclic garbage collection" section of "Extending
> and Embedding the Python Interpreter"), but those docs came
> nowhere near giving me an adequate understanding of the design
> rationale behind the cyclic GC.  Did I overlook some
> documentation?

It's a pretty old document and perhaps a little out of date but
here's something I wrote while working on the Python GC:

  http://arctrix.com/nas/python/gc/

Looking back, I realize that the constraints were pretty extreme
which probably accounts for the unique implementation.  A few off
the top of my head:

  * binary compatible with previous version of Python
  * optional
  * small overhead for programs that don't create reference cycles
  * __del__ methods should still work

Cheers,

  Neil