In the preceding chapters, we presented four different styles of garbage collection. In this chapter, we compare them in more detail. We examine the collectors in two different ways. First, we consider criteria by which we may assess the algorithms and the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches in different circumstances. We then present abstractions of tracing and reference counting algorithms due to Bacon et al [2004]. These abstractions reveal that while the algorithms exhibit superficial differences they also bear a deep and remarkable similarity.
It is common to ask: which is the best garbage collector to use? However, the temptation to provide a simple answer needs to be resisted. First, ...
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