> >> paging to/from disk
> > No, that's not a fair comparison. Paging/swapping is the only way to
> > extend virtual memory space without buying more RAM. Is there an
> > alternative method of increasing VM size without paging, and is it any
> > faster?
> Sure it is fair. You could use overlays instead, but most people
> are too lazy to do it. Overlays can give you better performance.
There just isn't a 1e4 factor difference between paging and overlays, I'd
be surprised if you get more than a factor of 2. And you could also tune
your program to be paging-friendly by clustering functions/data used
together... but I'd guess much of that happens semi-automatically by the
way source programs are laid out (you don't usually define totally
unrelated functions in the same source file, for one).
[...]
> > DSM can destroy performance for typical threaded programmes.
> It can. It does not always. One might as well try, especially when
> there is existing code that can be used.
That it can _for typical programs_ means you have to be avare of the
pitfalls... and that kills the "nice, friendly, uniform model" idea that is
quite critical to the whole bussiness at hand.
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