Reference counting memory model (-mm=rc) and related codegen/runtime fixes - #308

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ASDAlexander77 merged 99 commits into

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docs-refcounting-evaluation

Sep 12, 2026

Commits on Sep 2, 2026

Add reference-counting-vs-GC evaluation; bump pre-alpha tag to 81

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7ea2762
Reserve a heap block header on the generic allocation path

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39bc1da
Record heap-header result in the RC evaluation

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5c7998f
Disable typed GC due to bitmap generation defects; class instances now use generic allocation path
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642b4ab

Commits on Sep 3, 2026

Point runtime type tags into per-type descriptors

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523048b
Generate per-type release routines into the descriptor slot

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0521ec4
Give static blocks the heap block header, marked immortal

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e16975e
Implement reference counting memory model and update related components
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bb0be42
Record the memory model in shared libraries, and settle WeakRef<T>

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d75b42b
Implement reference counting logic for `delete` operation and enhance release routines
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Add ts.Retain and ts.Release, and the retain routines behind them

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8f734cf
Implement unwind-safe disposal for `using` scopes and add corresponding tests
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Make locals own the heap references they hold

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64a8733
Delete two of the four `using` unwind guards, which were already stale

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00cbdfb
End the active catch when a throw leaves it

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4523209
Hoist owned storage out of the TryOp

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076278f

Commits on Sep 4, 2026

Fix catchable type size handling to prevent register corruption in JIT mode
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0bd5678
Fix inliner behavior for throws and add related tests
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7e92d08
Fix ToInvoke splitting at an operation that is already an invoke

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d9c5857
Add the ownership verifier, and fix what it found

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da08f69
Make fields own what they hold

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7ab09f2
Make elements own what they hold

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2aba8eb
Retain what a literal captures

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0560cd6
Retain what the array-mutating ops insert

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ebb1dbc
Make inline records own what their fields hold

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bc10b48
Allocate heap blocks unowned, and return +1

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722f32e
Consume a transferred reference instead of retaining it again

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f58d90e
Consume the reference pop and shift transfer

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d183def
Implement Owned Return Consumption Pass to manage reference ownership in function calls
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037e758
Flip the allocator under -mm=rc, and fix allocating inside a catch funclet

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3d0f21d
Fix a try/catch nested inside a catch clause

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1c63522
Give back the temporaries nothing received

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c306620
Make an interface own what it was made from

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d029c81
Resolve a method call's callee where it is safe to, and only there

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c7961c9
Give a closure its capture box, and make the releases actually run

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a19eba0
Give a captured variable's cell an owner

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1121ee2

Commits on Sep 5, 2026

Give back a cell whether or not the frame owns what is in it

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Take a reference when boxing into `any`

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Hand back a reference for a string that was just built

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c91d341
Read through the `-mm=rc` corpus sweep and analyze non-zero exits; identify failures under `gc` and `rc` configurations.
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Give a generator's unwritten local a value the retain can survive

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c05804e
Give a literal array a block header, and an exhausted iterator a value

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Allocate and free a coroutine frame on the same heap

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0cda86e
Run the corpus under every memory model, in both tiers

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d9d9064
Take a reference to a cell captured through a capture box

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4244462
Refactor reference counting logic for unions and add tests for union behavior
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0c77bf7
Let `delete` claim the reference it gives up

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69c55f1

Commits on Sep 6, 2026

Retain what the synthesised constructor-interface method returns

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162d925
Remove the `-nogc` alias

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064e294
Clarify generator state object behavior and fix ownership issues in reference counting
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Diagnose 00mixed_type_ops: the allocation goes, the free stays

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6fced23
Say that boxing a value into `any` allocates

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2be955b
Add tests for global ownership and reference counting behavior
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Enhance reference counting evaluation: add tests for generator locals and fix related issues
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Give the entry point an exit code, and check it

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b692e1c
Enhance ownership routine logic to handle capture boxes: add release routine for `ref<tuple<..>>` fields and ensure proper memory management in generator state objects.
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Ask a dispatched call about every callee it could have

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Answer a call through a value with the module

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Let discovery see what `new`'s arguments read

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073e63f
Carry an awaited result in a slot, not in an async value

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bceb57b
Tell the collector it is multi-threaded before awaiting on a pool

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6af9c1c
Retire 5aa: iterating a literal array does not leak

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44e4d68
Stand in for GC_enable_threads when a JIT run has no runtime DLL

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231fed7
Measure what raytrace holds, and file the crash blocking the next step

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Release a discarded temporary on the paths that return early

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Say which half of the last fix was measured and which was not

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44e77e7
Ask a jump whether it leaves the block, not where it is written

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d9f4a58

Commits on Sep 7, 2026

Commits on Sep 8, 2026

Enhance documentation for memory model builds, clarifying usage of build.bat and build.sh for different configurations
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a3d95e7

Commits on Sep 10, 2026

Commits on Sep 11, 2026

Commits on Sep 12, 2026