On Mon, 9 Jan 2012, Mariano Martinez Peck wrote:

Hi Levente. Thanks for looking into the issue. I saw your code and there is
something I don't understand.

pointsTo: anObject
� "Answers true if the garbage collector would fail to collect anObject
because I hold a reference to it, or false otherwise"

� (self instVarsInclude: anObject)
� � � ifTrue: [
� � � � � self class isWeak ifFalse: [ ^true ].
� � � � � 1 to: self class instSize do: [ :i |
� � � � � � � (self instVarAt: i) == anObject ifTrue: [ ^true ] ].
� � � � � ^false ]
� � � ifFalse: [ ^self class == anObject and: [ self class isCompact not
] ]


I don't understand the loop of

� � � � � 1 to: self class instSize do: [ :i |
� � � � � � � (self instVarAt: i) == anObject ifTrue: [ ^true ] ].


In which scenario can � � (self instVarsInclude: anObject) �answer true,
but the loop false?

The scenario happens when the receiver has weak slots and the argument is referenced from one of those weak slots, but not from the other slots.

doesn't #instVarsInclude do exactly what you are doing there?

Just partially. Since we have no information about which slots hold the
reference to the argument, therefore this loop must be "repeated".

Anyway, I have integrated your changes in Pharo, but still, I have the same
problem :(
If I understand correctly, the following shouldn't fail, but it does. Here
is the version of Squeak that fails.

The assetion fails, because the indirection vector (the Array found by PointerFinder) holds a reference to the object after the first assignment to a. If you move the temporary inside the block or use an inlined loop (e.g. #to:do: with literal block argument), then the assertion won't fail. So this is just a normal (maybe surprising) reference to the object.

Levente

| a |
10 timesRepeat: [
a := Date new.
Smalltalk garbageCollect.
self assert: (PointerFinder pointersTo: a) isEmpty
]

Thanks a lot,


On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 2:40 PM, Levente Uzonyi <leves@elte.hu> wrote:

On Sun, 8 Jan 2012, Mariano Martinez Peck wrote:

�What I don't understand is why in Squeak it does work.

Because #pointsTo: is not used in Squeak (yet). As usual I dug deeper
than
I should have, so I'll publish a few changes soon.


�Ok, you are right. Squeak #inboundPointersExcluding: �is using

#instVarsInclude: �rather than #pointsTo. And that solves the problem in
Pharo as well. But still, I would like to understand why we get those
method contexts with #pointsTo.

Because #pointsTo: is a normal message send, it even sends other methods,
so it will create contexts.


�Thanks Levente for your help. If you find something let us know, I want to

learn :)

I pushed my changes to the Squeak Inbox, which fully works around this
issue. The changes about weak references can simply be removed if you don't
like them, the rest will just work without them.


Levente

Thanks

Levente


�Thanks in advance Levente!

�it will create at least one new MethodContext which is not included in

that list.


Levente

�Levente

�Thanks again.

�Levente

�Do you mean what I understand :)? that some tools compiled
methods?
:)

�Stef

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