For review: Add implementation of reference types (global heap)

[Warwick HARVEY]

Thomas Charles CONWAY <conway at cs.mu.OZ.AU> writes:

>Warwick Harvey, you write:
> > In order to implement these features, a new memory zone "global heap" was
> > added to the runtime system, for a heap which is not reclaimed on failure,
> > along with a pair of functions for copying terms to this heap.

>Check what just happened to the runtime - all the global stuff like stacks
>and heaps have moved into a MercuryEngine data structure. I would
>recommend that the global heap become part of the per-engine state so
>that locking is not required to allocate from it in the MT case.

Argh, the news group was a couple of days behind the mailing list, so I only
just got this.  :-(  It would have saved a nasty shock if I'd received the
forewarning.  :-)

Anyway, can you please take a look at my other post (with title starting
"Help" :-) and get back to me regarding my questions?  Preferably by email
(Cc:'ed to mdev of course).

Thanks,
Warwick