Hi,

I've found a memory leak in GUILE.

The contents of modules are not garbage collected.

This seems to be related with two errors:

  - scm_stand_in_procs is a hashtable. I believe it should be weak_key
hashtable, just like the scm_object_whash table. For, if a closure is
GC'd, so should it properties.

  - in boot-9.scm, set-module-eval-closure! does

      (set-procedure-property! closure 'module module))

So the closure is a key in a weak hash-table, pointing to the module
as a value (using scm_stand_in_procs), the module is always marked
during GC. However, since the module points back to the closure via
the 'eval-closure slot, the key is always marked. Consequently,
neither closure nor module are ever GC'd.

I've fixed this by introducing a new function (eval-closure-module)
which returns the module of a closure via the eval-closure smob.  Find 
the patch (including test) attached.

I don't really know what I am doing, so please comment. FWIW, the test 
suite compiled without complaints. If noone objects, I will merge this 
patch tomorrow night.  Furthermore, I believe the same bug is in GUILE 
1.6, so a 1.6.8 release is warranted IMO.

Greetings,

Han-Wen


PS. I feel like a broken record, but when will GUILE 1.8 be out?


-- 
  Han-Wen Nienhuys - hanwen@xs4all.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~hanwen