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Subject: [boost] [container] Experimental support for memory expansion in vector and burst allocation in node containers
From: Ion Gaztañaga (igaztanaga_at_[hidden])
Date: 2014-02-16 07:41:16


Hi to all,

Some years later than I expected, I've committed to the master branch
(after regression tests in develop were ok) a new feature for
Boost.Container: new experimental allocators that support memory
expansion and burst allocation in order to improve insertion and erasure
times in most containers. The interface of these allocators is a
variation of the interface I proposed in N2045. The interface is still
experimental and not ready to be used by other containers as it's quite
complex to handle and I think it can be further improved. Nevertheless,
Boost.Container users can benefit from improved performance just using
these allocators.

The first experiment using this approach can be found in my old article
"Applying classic memory allocation strategies to C++ containers"
(http://www.drivehq.com/web/igaztanaga/allocplus/). In that article,
Boost.Interprocess containers were modified to support N2045 and
DLMalloc was version 2.8.3. In the new version the extended system
allocator is based on DLMalloc version 2.8.6 (I've noticed a performance
improvement in DLMalloc in the new version) and requires linking a new
Boost.Container library. Boost.Container is still header-only if
extended allocators are not used.

DLMalloc is known to be size and speed efficient for non heavily
multithreaded environments, but Boost.Container DLMalloc extension is
*not* a replacement for multithreaded allocators (say ptmalloc2,
ptmalloc3, nedmalloc, tcmalloc, jemalloc...). Your default system
allocator will be more efficient than Boost.Container for highly
multithreaded environments. On the other hand, at least in Windows and
Linux, the allocator seems to be very efficient in non-multithreaded
programs.

The following extended allocators are provided:

* boost::container::allocator: This extended allocator offers expansion,
shrink-in place and burst allocation capabilities implemented as a thin
wrapper around the modified DLMalloc. It can be used with all containers
and it should be the default choice when the programmer wants to use
extended allocator capabilities.

* boost::container::node_allocator: It's a Simple Segregated Storage
allocator, similar to Boost.Pool that takes advantage of the modified
DLMalloc burst interface. It does not return memory to the DLMalloc
allocator (and thus, to the system), unless explicitly requested. It
does offer a very small memory overhead so it's suitable for node
containers that allocate very small value_types and it offers improved
node allocation times for single node allocations with respect to
boost::container::allocator.

* boost::container::adaptive_pool: It's a low-overhead node allocator
that can return memory to the system. The overhead can be very low (< 5%
for small nodes) and it's nearly as fast as
boost::container::node_allocator. It's also suitable for node
containers. More details on the implementation of this allocator can be
found in http://www.drivehq.com/web/igaztanaga/allocplus/#Chapter3.

The goal of these extended allocators in Boost.Container is to start
building widespread existing practice in regularly requested features
from container users (realloc-like behaviour in vector, amortizing
several node allocation in range insertions, etc...). I'm not an
allocator expert, nor a HPC guru. These new allocators are just the
first step of an experiment that I hope real experts will improve. I
will appreciate any comment, bug report or suggestion.

Thanks,

Ion


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