Region-Based Memory Management

DIKU International Summer School

Monday 18 August - Friday 22 August, 1997

Copenhagen

Abstract

The ML Kit with Regions was released in April 1997. The release followed a five-year effort to develop region-based implementation technology. The summer school is a chance to learn about region-based memory management and its realisation in the ML Kit from people who have worked on developing it.

(Added 21 August 1997: slides and exercises used during the course.)

The summer school will be concerned with the theory and implementation of region-based memory management. In addition, there will be programming experiments, in which participants can experience programming with regions.

Intended audience

The summer school is primarily targeted at Ph.D. students with an interest in programming languages. Participants are assumed to know Standard ML (or a similar programming language). The theoretical parts assume knowledge of operational semantics. No prior knowledge of regions is assumed.

Speakers:

• Mads Tofte
• Lars Birkedal
• Martin Elsman
• Tommy Højfeld Olesen
• Peter Sestoft

Course Components

• Theory: Region Inference rules (soundness and algorithms), Multiplicity Inference, Storage Mode Analysis, Physical Size Inference, Modules and Separate Compilation.
• Implementation: The Design of the ML Kit, the Kit Abstract Machine, Region Profiling, Garbage Collecting Regions.
• Programming: Basic Values, Lists, First-Order Functions, Value Declarations, Static Detection of Space Leaks, References, Recursive Data Types, Exceptions, Resetting Regions, Higher-Order Functions, Efficient Function Calls.

Course Materials

• Slides from lectures
• Exercises
• Tofte and Talpin: Region-Based Memory Management (Information and Computation, February 1997) Postscript
• Birkedal et al: From Region Inference to von Neumann Machines via Region Representation Inference. (POPL 96)
Postscript.
• Tofte et al: Programming with Regions in the ML Kit, Technical Report DIKU-TR-97/12)A4 paper (non-US) or letter-size paper

Venue