[gclist] Garbage collection FAQ.

[Scott.Nettles@LDL.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU]

1. I think a FAQ is a great idea. I've thought we should have one for a
long time, but hadn't gotten around to suggesting/working on it.

2. Paul's survey isn't a FAQ, although it should be a good place to
mine for info. I agree that David has made a good start. I suspect
we'll see some sparks before the process is over. :-)

> Is it a good idea to valorize reference counting by putting it first and

I think it's important to be fair and relativly comprehensive. I
actually see ref counting as at the same level as tracing, with M&S and
copying being subparts of tracing. That doesn't make it better. Still,
it is widely used and in many contexts is totally appropriate.

>Stefan "who admits being more of a copy-bigot than a mark-bigot"

Me, too. But not to sound like a broken record, what we really need is
more implementations and careful measurements, not more opinions.

We're starting to see more collectors that combine both M&S and
copying, trying to get the advantages of each. My guess is this is the
way that strict collection will go in the future. But these collectors
are complex and complex systems are hard both to build and measure. 

Speaking of which I should be building and measuring rather than
opinioning. Later.

Scott