[Python-Dev] Python 2.3a1's mandatory use of cyclic GC causes existing applications to fail (original) (raw)

Michael Hudson mwh@python.net
Wed, 05 Feb 2003 16:14:35 +0000

Robert Ledwith <rledwith@cas.org> writes:

I do not believe my experiences will prove to be unique among the Python community. Given this possibility, is it desirable to re-insert the logic to make the cyclic GC optional now, heading off potential problems that would surface only months from now, once Python 2.3 is officially rolled out and installed worldwide?

I'm not fully aware of all the issues, but I think that the interaction between the sometimes-there-sometimes-not gc code and the trashcan facility for safely deallocating deeply nested structures was deeply confusing and was a motivation for making the GC code non-optional.

So desirable or not, re-adding --without-cycle-gc may be hard.

Cheers, M.

-- It's a measure of how much I love Python that I moved to VA, where if things don't work out Guido will buy a plantation and put us to work harvesting peanuts instead. -- Tim Peters, comp.lang.python