Go Garbage Collection: Tri-Color Mark and Sweep

Go Garbage Collection: Tri-Color Mark and Sweep | DevPrep


┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Mark Setup (STW ~10-30μs)                          │
│    - Enable write barrier                              │
│    - Scan stacks                                       │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 2. Concurrent Mark (runs with app)                    │
│    - Traverse heap                                     │
│    - Mark reachable objects                            │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3. Mark Termination (STW ~10-30μs)                    │
│    - Drain remaining work                              │
│    - Disable write barrier                             │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 4. Sweep (concurrent)                                 │
│    - Reclaim white objects                             │
│    - Return memory to allocator                        │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

GODEBUG=gctrace=1 ./myapp

# Output:
# gc 1 @0.012s 2%: 0.018+1.2+0.019 ms clock, 0.14+0.20/0.80/0+0.15 ms cpu, 
#              4->4->1 MB, 5 MB goal, 8 P
#
# Meaning:
# gc 1           - GC number
# @0.012s        - Time since start
# 2%             - % of CPU used for GC
# 0.018+1.2+0.019 - STW mark setup, concurrent mark, STW mark term
# 4->4->1 MB     - Heap before GC, after GC, live data

import "runtime/debug"

func init() {
    // GOGC: Target heap growth % before next GC
    // Default: 100 (double heap size triggers GC)
    // Lower = more frequent GC, less memory, more CPU
    debug.SetGCPercent(50)
    
    // GOMEMLIMIT: Soft memory limit (Go 1.19+)
    // GC triggers more aggressively as limit approaches
    debug.SetMemoryLimit(1 << 30) // 1GB
}

// 1. Use sync.Pool for frequently allocated objects
var bufferPool = sync.Pool{
    New: func() interface{} {
        return make([]byte, 4096)
    },
}

func process(data []byte) {
    buf := bufferPool.Get().([]byte)
    defer bufferPool.Put(buf)
    // Use buf...
}

// 2. Pre-allocate slices
// Bad: grows and reallocates
items := []Item{}
for i := 0; i < 1000; i++ {
    items = append(items, Item{})
}

// Good: single allocation
items := make([]Item, 0, 1000)
for i := 0; i < 1000; i++ {
    items = append(items, Item{})
}

// 3. Use value types instead of pointers when possible
// (keeps data on stack, not heap)

// Before GOMEMLIMIT: Allocate a large unused byte slice
// to trick GC into running less frequently
var ballast = make([]byte, 10<<30) // 10GB

// This is now obsolete with GOMEMLIMIT in Go 1.19+

Go Garbage Collection: Tri-Color Mark and Sweep

Problem Statement

Tri-Color Mark and Sweep Algorithm

GC Phases

Debugging GC with GODEBUG

Tuning GC for Low Latency

Reducing GC Pressure

The Ballast Technique (Legacy)

Follow-up Questions

Problem Statement

Tri-Color Mark and Sweep Algorithm

GC Phases

Debugging GC with GODEBUG

Tuning GC for Low Latency

Reducing GC Pressure

The Ballast Technique (Legacy)

Follow-up Questions