Lifecycle and Memory

The runtime owns all objects in a memory pool. You initialize once, use objects freely, and let teardown reclaim everything.

#include "abscom/abs.h"

abs_init and abs_cleanup

Function	Description
void abs_init(void)	Initialize the runtime: reset the memory pool, seed the RNG from the time, and start Winsock on Windows. Call once before any other runtime function.
void abs_cleanup(void)	Release every tracked object's internals, free the pool, and shut down Winsock. Call at the end of main.

#include "abscom/abs.h"

int main(void) {
    abs_init();

    var xs = range(0, 10);
    foreach (var x, xs) {
        print(x);
    }

    abs_cleanup();
    return 0;
}

Every program using the runtime must call abs_init() first and abs_cleanup() last.

del

Function	Description
void del(var obj)	Free the object's payload (string buffer, list/dict/set contents, file handle, error message) and mark the object as ABS_NONE.

abs_init();

var s = abs_new_str("temporary");
print(s);            /* temporary */
del(s);
print(s);            /* None (object is now ABS_NONE) */

abs_cleanup();

del on an already-None object (or NULL) is a no-op. The object slot itself stays allocated until abs_cleanup, but its payload is freed immediately.

The memory pool

• Objects are arena-allocated in fixed-size blocks; abs_new_* hands out AbsObj slots from the pool.
• Dynamic payloads (strings, list buffers, dict nodes, file handles) are tracked in a side list and freed by abs_cleanup.
• You do not need to track or free individual objects — abs_cleanup reclaims everything still alive.

Rules of thumb

1. Always pair abs_init() with abs_cleanup().
2. Use del for objects you know are finished; skip it for objects that live until teardown.
3. Never call runtime functions before abs_init().

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