Oilpan: The Garbage Collector for Blink in Chrome

Oilpan is a specialized garbage collection system for the Blink rendering engine in Chrome, specifically designed to manage C++ objects and eliminate memory safety issues like use-after-free bugs. It operates using a mark-and-sweep tracing mechanism that manages object lifetimes across independent, thread-local heaps partitioned by object type. A key feature is its unified heap integration with V8, which allows for cross-component tracing between JavaScript and the C++ DOM graph. Developers interact with Oilpan using specific smart pointers such as Member and Persistent, alongside required Trace methods that define the relationship between objects. While it provides automatic reclamation for complex structures like DOM nodes and CSS values, it requires careful use of pre-finalizers and weak references to manage non-deterministic destruction. Ultimately, the system replaces manual memory management with a managed runtime model to enhance browser safety and stability.