[brent_noorda]

No heap? Hmmm... As the slidedeck pointed out, much time is spent in both allocation and copying of memory, and in practice those things are most often strings. Given that 1) the languages under consideration declare strings as immutable, and 2) the strings enter the system at fixed points (e.g. source code or external inputs), and 3) exit at fixed points (e.g. sent out a socket).... Imagine a system that does not allow heap allocation or memory copying at all. Just doesn't allow them!

    var structure = "dog" + "house"
    print structure

does not need to allocate or move memory. That's how the script languages do it now, but should they? All the really need to do is print "dog" and then print "house", there's nothing that says those 8 letters need to be ever adjacent in memory.

Since it's so darn easy (and sloppy) to call malloc() and memcpy() the script-engine writers are going to keep doing so until they're given a MacrocosmicGod-like environment that won't allow malloc() or memcpy() and so will have to come up with a clever workaround. maybe it will be something like linked-lists of immutable blocks of memory? Something like ropes? Something smarter than that?

Anyway, script-engine writers, please forget that malloc() and memcpy() exist, and see what you come up with. It'll be wonderful. (P.S. I was in the script-engine business for a dozen years and didn't solve the problem, but that's just because I'm not smart enough.)