System and method for facilitating unmanaged code participation in garbage collection

A method for facilitating memory management, comprising:

• storing an unmanaged component saved register into a machine state data structure;
• storing a stack pointer into the machine state data structure;
• and,
• publishing the unmanaged component's desire to participate in garbage collection.

A system that facilitates memory management, comprising:

• a machine state capturing component storing a machine state associated with an unmanaged component to facilitate garbage collection of a memory heap;
• a garbage collection component performing garbage collection of the memory heap including the unmanaged component;
• an unwind component facilitating garbage collection including the unmanaged component;
• and
• a machine state restoring component restoring the machine state based at least in part upon garbage collection of the memory heap.

A system that facilitates memory management, comprising:

• means for capturing a machine state associated with an unmanaged component and storing the machine state in a machine state data structure to facilitate garbage collection;
• means for performing garbage collection of the memory heap including the unmanaged component;
• means for unwinding information stored in the machine state data structure facilitating garbage collection including the unmanaged component;
• and
• means for restoring a machine state associated with an unmanaged component based at least in part upon garbage collection of the memory heap.

A system that facilitates memory management, comprising:

• a machine state capturing component that stores a machine state associated with an unmanaged component to facilitate garbage collection of a memory heap;
• a garbage collection component that performs garbage collection of the memory heap including the unmanaged component;
• an unwind component that determines locations and values of machine registers saved by the unmanaged component to facilitate garbage collection;
• and
• a machine state restoring component that restores the machine state based at least in part upon garbage collection of the memory heap.

A system that facilitates memory management, comprising:

• an unmanaged component that performs an operation that initiates garbage collection;
• a machine state capturing component that stores a current machine state;
• a garbage collection component that performs garbage collection of a memory heap if the unmanaged component performs the operation;
• an unwind component that alters the machine state in response to instructions from the unmanaged component;
• and
• a machine state restoring component that restores the machine state based at least in part upon the altered machine state.