WeakReference and the Scala REPL

Question

I would like to play with scala.ref.WeakReference . However, before trying to implement the big thing, I would like to try to check the behavior in scala console. I tried a few thing but I was unable to obtained my object to be dereferenced. Here is one of my tries:

> class A
defined class A

> class B(var value: A)
defined class B

> new B(new A)
res0: B = B@c8aeb3

> new scala.ref.WeakReference(res0.value)
res1: scala.ref.WeakReference[A] = scala.ref.WeakReferenceWithWrapper@16a5d72

> res0.value = new A

> res1.get // Here I hope to get None
res3: Option[A] = Some(A@135707c)

Another try is given by oxbow_lakes below.

I've also tried to explicitly run the garbage collector (calling java.lang.System.gc ) in vain.

Is there any way to dereference the content of res1 ?

Answer 1

Welcome to Scala version 2.8.1.final (Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM, Java 1.6.0_22).
Type in expressions to have them evaluated.
Type :help for more information.

scala> class A  
defined class A

scala> class B(var value: A)
defined class B

scala> new B(new A)
res0: B = B@4223d9b

scala> new scala.ref.WeakReference(res0.value)
res1: scala.ref.WeakReference[A] = scala.ref.WeakReferenceWithWrapper@20eb607d

scala> res0.value = new A

scala> System gc

scala> res1 get
res3: Option[A] = None

By the way, if I run it as a script without an explicit System gc , it won't delete the reference either. So to me it's not an issue of the REPL but just the way that weak references and the garbage collector work.

Answer 2

Run your code with scala -Xprint:parser and you'll see what's keeping old value of a var referenced even after you reassign it.

I'm going to simplify things here, and just run two lines of code:

var b=1
b=2

And this is what Scala prints:

scala> var b=1
[[syntax trees at end of parser]]// Scala source: <console>
package <empty> {
  object line2$object extends scala.ScalaObject {
    def <init>() = {
      super.<init>();
      ()
    };
    object $iw extends scala.ScalaObject {
      def <init>() = {
        super.<init>();
        ()
      };
      object $iw extends scala.ScalaObject {
        def <init>() = {
          super.<init>();
          ()
        };
        var b = 1                                ///// YOUR CODE HERE
      }
    }
  }
}

[[syntax trees at end of parser]]// Scala source: <console>
package <empty> {                                /////THIS IS AN object
                                                 /////SO PRESUMABLY IT CAN'T BE GC'ED
  object RequestResult$line2$object extends scala.ScalaObject {
    def <init>() = {
      super.<init>();
      ()
    };
    lazy val scala_repl_value = {                 /////THIS LAZY VAL
      scala_repl_result;                          /////WILL REFERENCE THE OLD VALUE
      line2$object.$iw.$iw.b                      /////EVEN AFTER YOU REASSIGN THE var
    };
    val scala_repl_result: String = {
      line2$object.$iw.$iw;
      "".$plus("b: Int = ").$plus(scala.runtime.ScalaRunTime.stringOf(line2$object.$iw.$iw.b))
    }
  }
}

b: Int = 1

scala> b=2
[[syntax trees at end of parser]]// Scala source: <console>
package <empty> {
  object line3$object extends scala.ScalaObject {
    def <init>() = {
      super.<init>();
      ()
    };
    object $iw extends scala.ScalaObject {
      def <init>() = {
        super.<init>();
        ()
      };
      import line2$object.$iw.$iw.b;              ///// I DON'T THINK THIS (ORDINARILY ILLEGAL)
                                                  ///// import CONTRIBUTES TO THE PROBLEM
      object $iw extends scala.ScalaObject {
        def <init>() = {
          super.<init>();
          ()
        };
        b = 2;                                    /////YOUR CODE HERE
        val synthvar$0 = b
      }
    }
  }
}

[[syntax trees at end of parser]]// Scala source: <console>
package <empty> {
  object RequestResult$line3$object extends scala.ScalaObject {
    def <init>() = {
      super.<init>();
      ()
    };
    lazy val scala_repl_value = {
      scala_repl_result;
      line3$object.$iw.$iw.synthvar$0
    };
    val scala_repl_result: String = {
      line3$object.$iw.$iw;
      "".$plus("b: Int = ").$plus(line3$object.$iw.$iw.synthvar$0).$plus("\012")
    }
  }
}

b: Int = 2

---

EDIT: To add on to Debilski's answer , I think the following solution will let you reassign the variable as many times as you want without the REPL keeping a reference to the old value:

class A
class B{
   var _value:A = new A
   def value = _value
   def pleaseUpdate( closure: B => Unit ) = closure(this)
}

Define your container object as:

val b=new B

And whenever you want to update the variable that's inside it:

b.pleaseUpdate( _._value = new A )

Answer 3

My idea was to use a var explicitly and set to null :

scala> var b = new B(new A)
b: B = B@45033fb5

scala> new scala.ref.WeakReference(b.value)
res0: scala.ref.WeakReference[A] = scala.ref.WeakReferenceWithWrapper@6a7be687

scala> b = null
b: B = null

scala> res0.get
res1: Option[A] = Some(A@79f71773)

It still does not work, though: the REPL is presumably doing stuff under the covers which keeps hold of the reference. I would therefore not advise using it to test the use of Reference s.

Answer 4

From Java API docs:

Calling the gc method suggests that the Java Virtual Machine expend effort toward recycling unused objects in order to make the memory they currently occupy available for quick reuse. When control returns from the method call, the Java Virtual Machine has made a best effort to reclaim space from all discarded objects.

In my anecdotal experience this means it rarely triggers a truly complete collection, especially if there is no pressure in terms of available memory. If you put pressure on it, it will be collected. I think you're expecting for more deterministic behavior out of the GC than it provides.

Welcome to Scala version 2.8.0.final (Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM, Java 1.6.0_22).
Type in expressions to have them evaluated.
Type :help for more information.

scala> var s = new String("Hello, world!")         
s: java.lang.String = Hello, world!

scala> import scala.ref.WeakReference
import scala.ref.WeakReference

scala> val w = new WeakReference(s)  
w: scala.ref.WeakReference[java.lang.String] = scala.ref.WeakReferenceWithWrapper@663f3fbd

scala> s = null
s: java.lang.String = null

scala> Array.ofDim[Byte](1024*1024)
res1: Array[Byte] = Array(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ...
scala> Array.ofDim[Byte](1024*1024)
res2: Array[Byte] = Array(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ...
scala> Array.ofDim[Byte](1024*1024)
res3: Array[Byte] = Array(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ...
scala> Array.ofDim[Byte](1024*1024)
res4: Array[Byte] = Array(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ...
scala> Array.ofDim[Byte](1024*1024)
res5: Array[Byte] = Array(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ...
scala> Array.ofDim[Byte](1024*1024)
res6: Array[Byte] = Array(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ...
scala> System.gc

scala> var g = w.get
g: Option[java.lang.String] = None