2GB limit

[Martin Pool]

On 8 October 2010 13:18, Maritza Mendez <martitzam at gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry... Hit send accidently.  At the risk of asking a dumb question or two...
>
> 1. Martin...your note seems to suggest the problem is especial to
> Windows.  Is that right or is it really just a matter of 32 bit python
> (and pyx)?

The root problem is that we hold more data in memory is really needed.
 This is possible to fix and is being fixed over time (we're down
something like 50% or more from 2.1 to 2.3b1).

However the proximate problem is that bzr can't allocate enough memory
to hold this data.  A 64-bit process can make better use of a machine
with more than about 2-3GB of memory.

This problem isn't inherent to Windows but I think Windows is the only
place where we don't use 64-bit addressing even when the system
supports it.

> 2.  Would running 64 bit python and non-compiled bzr (slow but works)
> provide a sufficient proof of principle solution?

Yes, that would be highly useful, and would either confirm or refute
what I posted above.

-- 
Martin