Collection Schemes for Distributed Garbage

With the continued growth in interest in distributed systems, garbage collection is actively receiving attention by designers of distributed languages [Bal, 1990]. Distribution adds another dimension of complexity to an already complex problem. A comprehensive review and bibliography of distributed garbage collection literature up to 1992 is presented. As distributed collectors are largely based on nondistributed collectors these are first briefly reviewed. Emphasis is given to collectors which appeared since the last major review [Cohen, 1981]. Collectors are broadly classified as those that identify garbage directly and those that identify it indirectly. Distributed collectors are reviewed on the basis of the taxonomy drawn up for nondistributed collectors.