16. The RTVMM of claim 12 wherein the implementing step comprises the step: providing parameterized access to heap memory in order to facilitate the implementation of read and write barriers, heap memory being a region of memory wherein objects of arbitrary size can be allocated space to satisfy the dynamic memory needs of application programs, heap memory being subject to garbage collection.
16. The RTVMM of claim 12 wherein the implementing step comprises the step: providing parameterized access to heap memory in order to facilitate the implementation of read and write barriers, heap memory being a region of memory wherein objects of arbitrary size can be allocated space to satisfy the dynamic memory needs of application programs, heap memory being subject to garbage collection. 18. The RTVMM of claim 16 wherein the implementing step comprises the step: providing a macro that assigns a value from a fast pointer in heap memory given the identity of the pointer, its type, and the value.