Realtime Audio with Garbage Collection

Abstract

Two non-moving concurrent garbage collectors tailored for realtime audio processing are described. Both collectors work on copies of the heap to avoid cache misses and audio-disruptive synchronizations. Both collectors are targeted at multiprocessor personal computers.

The first garbage collector works in uncooperative environments, and can replace Hans Boehm's conservative garbage collector for C and C++. The collector does not access the virtual memory system. Neither does it use a read barrier or a write barrier.

The second garbage collector replicates the heap using a novel algorithm. The second collector works in similar environments as the first collector, but it requires a write barrier. Two variants of the collector are described, each using a different type of write barrier. Neither of the write barriers should affect audio processing performance.