This classification was invented decades ago. I think in 1970s or even earlier. Garbage collection is a large field with lots of ideas and research behind it. There are different approaches to structure the heap, to find roots, to trace living objects. These different approaches oftentimes (but not always) replaceable, you can change how you find roots while leaving other things intact.
GC is a large field, it has its own terminology, and instead of asking "why are we inventing terminology", I'd ask "who we are to change the existing terminology".
Comments
That is too subtle of a distinction. Tracing demands roots. Why are we inventing a new classification where we have accurate versus inaccurate roots?
This classification was invented decades ago. I think in 1970s or even earlier. Garbage collection is a large field with lots of ideas and research behind it. There are different approaches to structure the heap, to find roots, to trace living objects. These different approaches oftentimes (but not always) replaceable, you can change how you find roots while leaving other things intact.
GC is a large field, it has its own terminology, and instead of asking "why are we inventing terminology", I'd ask "who we are to change the existing terminology".