There is zero value in refcounting for tree node lifetimes. DAGs, only sometimes. Graphs are rarely as general as textbooks usually imply, although it is easy t

There is zero value in refcounting for tree node lifetimes. DAGs, only sometimes. Graphs are rarely as general as textbooks usually imply, although it is easy to find (e.g. geographical) examples that are. Fully manual memory management has been demonstrated not to be legitimate, for reasons well covered already. It is just the only choice in weak languages.