Vertical Object Layout and Compression for Fixed Heaps

Research into embedded sensor networks has placed increased focus on the problem of developing reliable and flexible software for microcontroller-class devices. Languages such as nesC and Virgil have brought higher-level programming idioms to this lowest layer of software, thereby adding expressiveness. Both languages are marked by the absence of dynamic memory allocation, which removes the need for a runtime system to manage memory. To provide data structures, nesC offers modules, and Virgil offers the application an opportunity to allocate and initialize objects during compilation. This paper explores techniques for compressing fixed object heaps with the goal of reducing the RAM footprint of a program.