[gclist] Re: gclist-digest V1 #122

[Marc Shapiro]

>From: Nick Barnes <nickb@harlequin.co.uk>
>Date: Tue, 03 Dec 1996 12:40:38 +0000
>Subject: [gclist] Name that hypothesis
>
>What is the name of the following hypothesis?
>
>        "Most references in a system point backwards in time, i.e. from
>         younger objects to older objects."

I am afraid this is wrong.  We have measured/traced a number of well-known
C programs, and found that for some the above assumption is true, but for
others the reverse is, i.e. old objects tend to point to younger ones.

I don't have the report in front of me.  I'll check tomorrow exactly which
programs exhibit this behaviour.

Marc Shapiro, INRIA, BP 105 Rocquencourt, 78153 Le Chesnay Cedex, France.
<marc.shapiro@inria.fr> tel. +33 (1) 3963-5325.  Fax +33 (1) 3963-5330.
http://sor.inria.fr/SOR/