+
+398: GC-unsafe SB-ALIEN string deporting
+ Translating a Lisp string to an alien string by taking a SAP to it
+ as done by the :DEPORT-GEN methods for C-STRING and UTF8-STRING
+ is not safe, since the Lisp string can move. For example the
+ following code will fail quickly on both cheneygc and pre-0.9.8.19
+ GENCGC:
+
+ (setf (bytes-consed-between-gcs) 4096)
+ (define-alien-routine "strcmp" int (s1 c-string) (s2 c-string))
+
+ (loop
+ (let ((string "hello, world"))
+ (assert (zerop (strcmp string string)))))
+
+ (This will appear to work on post-0.9.8.19 GENCGC, since
+ the GC no longer zeroes memory immediately after releasing
+ it after a minor GC. Either enabling the READ_PROTECT_FREE_PAGES
+ #define in gencgc.c or modifying the example so that a major
+ GC will occasionally be triggered would unmask the bug.)
+
+ On cheneygc the only solution would seem to be allocating some alien
+ memory, copying the data over, and arranging that it's freed once we
+ return. For GENCGC we could instead try to arrange that the string
+ from which the SAP is taken is always pinned.
+
+ For some more details see comments for (define-alien-type-method
+ (c-string :deport-gen) ...) in host-c-call.lisp.