Memory allocation questions

For the following questions, submit your answers electronically to Moodle in a single file. Use appropriate software for writing technical text: don't just use a text file. Reasonable options that come to mind are LaTeX (submit a PDF), Microsoft Word, or OpenOffice.org Writer. (I'm partial to the third one, but use whatever you think is best.) Perhaps there are other good alternatives you know of.

1. Languages that employ the reference model of variables tend to use automatic garbage collection (Python, Scheme, objects in Java, etc.), whereas languages that employ the value model of variables tend not to use garbage collection (C, C++, Pascal, etc.). Why does garbage collection make more sense for a reference model language than for a value model language? Think about the capabilities that C provides, and explain the implications of adding garbage collection.
2. Place yourself in the the role of being in charge of language changes for the next version of Python or Java. You get to decide what goes in and what doesn't. (The "owner" of Python, Guido van Rossum, refers to himself as the Benevolent Dictator for Life.) On the language mailing list, someone proposes adding a "free" command, like the one that C has. Use of this command would be completely optional, but a programmer could use it to save the garbage collector the work of finding these pieces of garbage in order to improve performance. Take a stand on whether or not this is a helpful idea, and explain why. Be specific in how it would affect garbage collection algorithms.