Device and method for determining memory leaks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9940068-B2
Application number	US-201514966270-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2015
Priority date	Dec 11, 2015
Publication date	Apr 10, 2018
Grant date	Apr 10, 2018

Abstract

A device and method generates a graphical representation for memory leak detection. The method includes executing a selected application for a time period. The method includes determining a plurality of memory application programming interface (API) functions performed during the execution of the selected application in the time period. Each of the memory API functions request a chunk of a memory of the electronic device at a specified time. The method includes determining select ones of the memory API functions that do not release the respective chunk of the memory in the time period. The method includes generating the graphical representation including the selected memory API functions at the respective specified time for identification of a memory leak of the selected application.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
executing a selected application for a time period;
determining a plurality of memory application programming interface (API) functions performed during the execution of the selected application in the time period, each of the memory API functions requesting a chunk of a memory of the electronic device at a specified time;
determining select ones of the memory API functions that do not release the respective chunk of the memory in the time period;
determining a respective size of each chunk of the memory requested and not released by each of the memory API functions; and
generating a graphical representation including the selected memory API functions at the respective specified time for identification of a memory leak of the selected application,
wherein the respective size of each chunk of the memory is included in the graphical representation.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a call tree for each of the selected memory API functions.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the call tree includes at least one of a name, a description, and a size for each of the selected memory API functions.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the selected memory API functions are filtering to omit first ones of the selected memory API functions at a starting time section of the time period and second ones of the selected memory API functions at an ending time section of time period.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining whether the graphical representation includes at least one suspect memory leak.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the at least one suspect memory leak corresponds to one of the select memory API functions being included in the graphical representation periodically along the time period.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
indicating a source in a programming code of the selected application corresponding to the at least one suspect memory leak.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation is a bar graph.

9. A device, comprising:
a storage arrangement including a memory in which portions thereof is allocated for use by at least one application; and
a processor configured to identify a memory leak, the processor configured to execute a selected application for a time period, the processor configured to determine a plurality of memory application programming interface (API) functions performed during the execution of the selected application in the time period, each of the memory API functions requesting a chunk of the memory at a specified time, the processor configured to determine select ones of the memory API functions that do not release the respective chunk of the memory in the time period, the processor configured to determine a respective size of each chunk of the memory requested and not released by each of the memory API functions, the processor configured to generate a graphical representation including the selected memory API functions at the respective specified time for identification of a memory leak of the selected application, wherein the respective size of each chunk of the memory is included in the graphical representation.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate a call tree for each of the selected memory API functions.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the call tree includes at least one of a name, a description, and a size for each of the selected memory API functions.

12. The device of claim 10 , wherein the selected memory API functions are filtering to omit first ones of the selected memory API functions at a starting time section of the time period and second ones of the selected memory API functions at an ending time section of time period.

13. The device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the graphical representation includes at least one suspect memory leak.

14. The device of claim 13 , wherein the at least one suspect memory leak corresponds to one of the select memory API functions being included in the graphical representation periodically along the time period.

15. The device of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to indicate a source in a programming code of the selected application corresponding to the at least one suspect memory leak.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein the program instructs a microprocessor to perform operations comprising:
executing a selected application for a time period;
determining a plurality of memory application programming interface (API) functions performed during the execution of the selected application in the time period, each of the memory API functions requesting a chunk of a memory of an electronic device at a specified time;
determining select ones of the memory API functions that do not release the respective chunk of the memory in the time period;
determining a respective size of each chunk of the memory requested and not released by each of the memory API functions; and
generating a graphical representation including the selected memory API functions at the respective specified time for identification of a memory leak of the selected application,
wherein the respective size of each chunk of the memory is included in the graphical representation.

Assignees

• Wind River Systems Inc

Inventors

• Schorn Markus
• Lerner David M

Classifications

• G06F11/00 Primary

  Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring (error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00) · CPC title

• G06F3/0673

  Single storage device · CPC title

• G06F3/0617

  in relation to availability · CPC title

• G06F3/0653 Primary

  Monitoring storage devices or systems · CPC title

• G06F11/36

  Prevention of errors by analysis, debugging or testing of software · CPC title