[MLton] max-heap setting for 64-bit applications

[Matthew Fluet]

On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 10:56 PM, Henry Cejtin
<henry.cejtin at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> With  regards  to the max-heap argument, it would be really good to have
> an argument which is the maximum amount of memory MLton can use,  or  as
> close  as we can come to that.  If it tries to grow bigger, even if only
> temporarily to grow a heap, and can't  grow  it  by  any  other  allowed
> means, it should fail with out of memory.

I think the only way one could use such an argument would be to
malloc/mmap that whole space at the beginning of the program and never
release or resize it.  We could still make use of a smaller heap
within that reserved space, and let the OS VMM page out the unused
pages.  (Or, on Windows, use the reserve/commit distinction.  On
Posix, use the madvise to preemptively indicate page-out/page-in
behavior.  I think I recall seeing that some *BSDs allow you to get
the reserve/commit distinction that Windows provides.)