> Reference counting is a form of GC, the difference being that the programmer has full control over when it runs. Most real time systems preallocate everything

> Reference counting is a form of GC, the difference being that the programmer has full control over when it runs. Most real time systems preallocate everything and never deallocate. I really don't think Swift is suitable for real time embedded systems, if that's what you suggest. Even C++ is often unsuitable. Rust might have potential one day, if not already. > One typical problem with GC systems is common patterns and library code cause allocations, which cause the GC to run - consuming cycles and causing jitter even if nothing is freed. Any library code can allocate or not allocate regardless of language or memory allocation system. > (Note that even calling malloc() is non-deterministic and best avoided in real time code.) Yeah, malloc is a pretty slow thing.