unsafe operations

[Andre]

if I have an unsafe method that takes in two arrays, performs some
operations and returns; I know that the garbage collector will not
collect objects allocated inside the unsafe method. However, if I'm
calling this method from a main() method of a class which is safe (i.e
managed), will the allocated array (which, suppose, has been allocated
inside the main() method) be collected by the garbage collector after
it's been used? Also, how do we delete heap allocated objects (suppose a
temporary array) from within the unsafe method? Is the unsafe method
treated as a region (term taken from strict Realitime environment) and
discarded by the GC once it's been used (or is it the method stack
that's discarded)? Just making sure I know what my code does before I
implement it :) thanks

-Andre

[Rob Teixeira [MVP]]

The GC will collect objects in an unsafe block. The trick is to pin the
objects so the GC *doesn't* collect them while you're using them. That's
what the "fixed" block is for. Look up the Fixed block in the help file, and
there's a sample. Once the code gets passed the fixed block, the objects
become unpinned, and the GC is able to collect them on the next round.

-Rob [MVP]

"Andre" <fo********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3F**************@hotmail.com...

if I have an unsafe method that takes in two arrays, performs some
operations and returns; I know that the garbage collector will not
collect objects allocated inside the unsafe method. However, if I'm
calling this method from a main() method of a class which is safe (i.e
managed), will the allocated array (which, suppose, has been allocated
inside the main() method) be collected by the garbage collector after
it's been used? Also, how do we delete heap allocated objects (suppose a
temporary array) from within the unsafe method? Is the unsafe method
treated as a region (term taken from strict Realitime environment) and
discarded by the GC once it's been used (or is it the method stack
that's discarded)? Just making sure I know what my code does before I
implement it :) thanks

-Andre

[Andre]

Thanks Rob, that answers my question.
cheers,

-Andre

Rob Teixeira [MVP] wrote:

The GC will collect objects in an unsafe block. The trick is to pin the
objects so the GC *doesn't* collect them while you're using them. That's
what the "fixed" block is for. Look up the Fixed block in the help file, and
there's a sample. Once the code gets passed the fixed block, the objects
become unpinned, and the GC is able to collect them on the next round.

-Rob [MVP]

"Andre" <fo********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3F**************@hotmail.com...

if I have an unsafe method that takes in two arrays, performs some
operations and returns; I know that the garbage collector will not
collect objects allocated inside the unsafe method. However, if I'm
calling this method from a main() method of a class which is safe (i.e
managed), will the allocated array (which, suppose, has been allocated
inside the main() method) be collected by the garbage collector after
it's been used? Also, how do we delete heap allocated objects (suppose a
temporary array) from within the unsafe method? Is the unsafe method
treated as a region (term taken from strict Realitime environment) and
discarded by the GC once it's been used (or is it the method stack
that's discarded)? Just making sure I know what my code does before I
implement it :) thanks

-Andre

[Rob Teixeira [MVP]]

I'd have to re-read the specs on the current GC, but the bottom line is that
at some point, everything gets collected.
There is no explicit delete of managed memory.

-Rob

"Andre" <fo********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3F**************@hotmail.com...

An afterthought - how do I explicitly 'delete' an object from within an
unsafe block like in C++? Is there an analogous operation available for
that? thanks

-Andre

Andre wrote:

One more thing... what if the unsafe code block allocated space larger
than 85Kb (i.e a single object was more than 85Kb), this would mean that
the GC would store this in the Large Object Space, which isn't
collected, and we'll end up with no or little memory? Or is this not the
case with unsafe code blocks?

-Andre
Rob Teixeira [MVP] wrote:

The GC will collect objects in an unsafe block. The trick is to pin the
objects so the GC *doesn't* collect them while you're using them. That's what the "fixed" block is for. Look up the Fixed block in the help
file, and
there's a sample. Once the code gets passed the fixed block, the objects become unpinned, and the GC is able to collect them on the next round.

-Rob [MVP]

"Andre" <fo********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3F**************@hotmail.com...

if I have an unsafe method that takes in two arrays, performs some
operations and returns; I know that the garbage collector will not
collect objects allocated inside the unsafe method. However, if I'm
calling this method from a main() method of a class which is safe (i.e
managed), will the allocated array (which, suppose, has been allocated
inside the main() method) be collected by the garbage collector after
it's been used? Also, how do we delete heap allocated objects (suppose a temporary array) from within the unsafe method? Is the unsafe method
treated as a region (term taken from strict Realitime environment) and
discarded by the GC once it's been used (or is it the method stack
that's discarded)? Just making sure I know what my code does before I
implement it :) thanks

-Andre