Hi,
Squeak supports "post-mortem" finalization which is a notifies
*another* object about the fact that some object just died. Squeak 3.7
(alpha) includes a bit of utility support to make this a little easier.
 Here (e.g., in 3.7) you can use:
 Object>>toFinalizeSend: aSelector to: aFinalizer with:
aResourceHandle
For example, you may have something like the following:
Object subclass: #MyClass
 instanceVariableNames: 'tempFiles'
 ...
MyClass>>initialize
 tempFiles := OrderedCollection new.
 self toFinalizeSend: #closeTempFiles: to: self class with:
tempFiles.
MyClass class>>closeTempFiles: aCollection
 "Close all the temporary files in aCollection"
 aCollection do:[:each| each close].
Some notes on the above:
a) Note the use of "self class" as the object responsible for
finalization. Neither the finalizer nor the arguments must refer to
the target object (this is because otherwise this object would never
be garbage collected). b) Note that if you ever assign anything (such
as a new collection) to tempFiles you'll have to re-register the
finalizer. Best to check with "inst var defs" from the browser to find
all those places. c) You should be aware that if you clean up the
object manually, the finalization will still be run unless you
deregister it manually. For example, you may add a method like
MyClass>>destroy
 "Destroy me and clean up"
 self class closeTempFiles: tempFiles.
 "Forget my finalization"
 self finalizationRegistry remove: self.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
  - Andreas
> -----Original Message-----
> From: squeak-dev-bounces_at_lists.squeakfoundation.org
> [mailto:squeak-dev-bounces_at_lists.squeakfoundation.org] On
> Behalf Of Stéphane Rollandin
> Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 11:12 PM
> To: squeak-dev_at_lists.squeakfoundation.org
> Subject: Garbage collection hook ?
>
>
>
> hello list,
>
> I have objects referencing temporary files. I would like
> those files to be
> deleted from the drive when the associated object gets
> garbage-collected.
> How should I proceed ? How is an object informed that it is
> about to be
> discarded ?