Date:	Tue, 27 Jul 1999 18:46:52 +0200
From:	Hans-Bernhard Broeker <broeker AT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de>
Message-Id:	<199907271646.SAA03718@acp3bf.physik.rwth-aachen.de>
To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject:	Re: Another question about C++
Newsgroups:	comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Organization:	RWTH Aachen, III. physikalisches Institut B
X-Newsreader:	TIN [version 1.2 PL2]
Reply-To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com

In article <19990727155716 DOT 12264 DOT rocketmail AT web103 DOT yahoomail DOT com> you wrote:

[...]
> well... what does garbage collection mean??

This question is definitely not on-topic for this newsgroup. It's a
*very* general computer science question, which has little to no
relevance at all for DJGPP. You should ask this kind of question
elsewhere.

That being said, let me hint you what garbage collection is about: In
C and C++, you as the coder must never forget to 'free()' or 'delete'
what you have 'malloc()ed' or 'newed', respectively. This can be
really cumbersome, and cause memory leaks and other types of bugs.
OTOH, there are languages like Java, where allocated storage is kept
track of so closely by the runtime environment that it can always find
wether a particular chunk of storage is still being used or not. This
implies the runtime system can *automatically* find and free any
unused storage. This automatic process is called garbage collection.

--
Hans-Bernhard Broeker (broeker AT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de)
Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.

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