marCsweep/README.md

# marCsweep

A mark-and-sweep garbage collector with a simple virtual machine to perform
allocations.

## Building

Compiling the project should be relatively easy, even if you aren't familiar
with `make`.

Dependencies: `git`, `make`, and `gcc`. Compiling with `clang` is also possible,
simply replace "gcc" with "clang" in the first line of the Makefile.

```
git clone https://codeberg.org/andyscott/marCsweep.git

cd marCsweep

make release
```

That's it! The Makefile will automatically create the build directory and place
the compiled executable there.

## Running

Once compiled, the program can be run with the following:

```
cd build # or debug

./gc
```

By default the program will output the results of the test cases:

> test_int_alloc: PASS  
test_pair_alloc: PASS  
test_obj_count: PASS  
test_pair_alloc: PASS  
test_unreachable: PASS  
test_auto_gc: PASS

If all six tests pass, then the library compiles correctly on your system and
should be ready for experimentation!

## Notes

This is a personal project that I am writing in my free time to learn more about
garbage collection. Thank you to [Robert
Nystrom](https://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2013/12/08/babys-first-garbage-collector/)
for the idea.

### Malloc

Sadly, it was this author's idea to extend the project by writing a custom
`malloc`. Perhaps I should have been lazy and used the preexisting definitions,
but where's the fun in that? You can find the code on the
[malloc](https://codeberg.org/andyscott/marCsweep/src/branch/malloc) branch,
but be aware that it's still highly experimental!