Chasing the Myth of Zero-Overhead Memory Safety (plus pictures of mythical birds!)

from blog Languages and Architecture, 15 Jun 2023 | ↗ original

In my recent article, I showed how Vale's linear types can provide memory safety without a borrow checker, generations, reference counting, or tracing GC. My friend Mike asked, "So linear types give zero-overhead memory safety, like borrow checking?" "Perhaps," I said. "What do you mean by zero-overhead...

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Borrow checking, RC, GC, and the Eleven (!) Other Memory Safety Approaches