Live memory analysis for garbage collection in embedded systems

Real-time garbage collection is essential if object-oriented languages (in particular, Java) are to become predictable enough for real-time embedded systems. Although techniques for hard real-time garbage collection exist, they are based on estimations of the maximum amount of referenced (live) memory. Such estimations may be difficult to derive manually for complex programs. We present techniques for predicting the maximum amount of live memory in object-oriented languages with inheritance and virtual methods. Annotations are used to bound recursively defined data structures. The annotations may also be used for timing analysis of code traversing annotated structures. A prototype live memory analysis tool has been developed. The tool interactively provides predictions of the maximum amount of live memory referenced from an arbitrary reference or block in an object-oriented program.