JavaScript is responsible for creating ENORMOUS memory leaks

Question

JavaScript is responsible for creating ENORMOUS memory leaks

Unexpectedly, our home PC has been coming to a sudden halt multiple times over the past few days. It takes nearly half an hour for the UI to recover, sometimes requiring a hard reboot. Upon checking Task Manager, I discovered that one specific PID is consuming approximately 96% of the PC's RAM. Through Chrome Task Manager, I identified it as a webpage created by me.

While I have only some knowledge about memory leaks from hearing about them in passing, I strongly believe that my Javascript code may be causing a memory leak. Is there a recommended practice to modify the code and prevent memory leaks? The suspicion lies on my response() function.

Prior to dismissing this inquiry due to duplication or lack of investigation, I refer to another Stack Overflow post which suggests that case "12124561414": could be the root cause; however, verification was inconclusive. Additionally, the loop within this function does not execute, making it uncertain if that's truly responsible, as I am unaware of any built-in JS tools to identify memory leaks.

Is there a way to run continuous loops without triggering memory leaks (if indeed that’s causing the issue)? Or how can resources seemingly unused be freed up? My intention is to have the busy tone play indefinitely until the page refreshes, but crashing the computer seems unjustified.

The complete JS code for the webpage is provided below:

    [JS code here]

This alternative approach appears promising, albeit untested due to concerns about further PC crashes:

[Modified JS code here]

javascript loops memory-management memory-leaks infinite-loop

Answer 1

Answer №1

It seems there is some confusion about infinite loops and how they can impact browser performance. In certain cases, entering an infinite loop can cause a browser to hang. For instance, running the following code in your JavaScript console may result in a similar hang scenario:

var number = "12124561414";
while (number == "12124561414") { /* do nothing */ }

The problem lies in the fact that the while loop executes in the same thread as the GUI loop, causing the GUI to freeze until the loop terminates.

A solution to this issue can be found in code examples you have already provided. Consider the following code snippet which plays a tone after a specified time interval, allowing the GUI to update during that period:

function numberDial() {
    if (dialTone) {
        dialTone.pause();
        dialTone.currentTime = 0;
    }
    clearTimeout(timeout);
    timeout = setTimeout(dial, 2000);
}

By using setInterval instead, you can call the function dial every 2 seconds until you stop it with clearInterval. This allows the GUI loop to continue functioning normally while the interval runs.

In response to your queries:

Is there a best practice to modify code to stop memory leaks?

To prevent memory leaks, carefully design your software so that objects are not retained unnecessarily.

Is there any way to run indefinite loops without causing memory leaks?

A helpful explanation from a Rust document addresses this matter...

... It's quite easy to end up with a collection of objects initialized at the start of a program, left unused within an eternal event loop. These objects will persist until the program ends, potentially wasting resources that could have been reclaimed by the OS upon termination.

In essence, whether a loop causes a memory leak depends on what actions occur prior to the loop execution!

Consider the line console.log(number); just before your problematic loop. This action could potentially lead to an unintended reference to number being stored in logs, which might be the only source of leakage identified in your code.

Upon further examination, it appears that this specific case may not actually constitute a memory leak, as number is declared outside the function scope. However, note that console.log has the potential to interfere with garbage collection processes!

Is there a way to release resources that seem to linger indefinitely?

To allow the garbage collector to reclaim these lingering resources, consider logging conditionally to limit the amount of data stored. The references pushed into logs might inadvertently retain other references, such as back to the global object.

Answer 2

It seems there is some confusion about infinite loops and how they can impact browser performance. In certain cases, entering an infinite loop can cause a browser to hang. For instance, running the following code in your JavaScript console may result in a similar hang scenario:

var number = "12124561414";
while (number == "12124561414") { /* do nothing */ }

The problem lies in the fact that the while loop executes in the same thread as the GUI loop, causing the GUI to freeze until the loop terminates.

A solution to this issue can be found in code examples you have already provided. Consider the following code snippet which plays a tone after a specified time interval, allowing the GUI to update during that period:

function numberDial() {
    if (dialTone) {
        dialTone.pause();
        dialTone.currentTime = 0;
    }
    clearTimeout(timeout);
    timeout = setTimeout(dial, 2000);
}

By using setInterval instead, you can call the function dial every 2 seconds until you stop it with clearInterval. This allows the GUI loop to continue functioning normally while the interval runs.

In response to your queries:

Is there a best practice to modify code to stop memory leaks?

To prevent memory leaks, carefully design your software so that objects are not retained unnecessarily.

Is there any way to run indefinite loops without causing memory leaks?

A helpful explanation from a Rust document addresses this matter...

... It's quite easy to end up with a collection of objects initialized at the start of a program, left unused within an eternal event loop. These objects will persist until the program ends, potentially wasting resources that could have been reclaimed by the OS upon termination.

In essence, whether a loop causes a memory leak depends on what actions occur prior to the loop execution!

Consider the line console.log(number); just before your problematic loop. This action could potentially lead to an unintended reference to number being stored in logs, which might be the only source of leakage identified in your code.

Upon further examination, it appears that this specific case may not actually constitute a memory leak, as number is declared outside the function scope. However, note that console.log has the potential to interfere with garbage collection processes!

Is there a way to release resources that seem to linger indefinitely?

To allow the garbage collector to reclaim these lingering resources, consider logging conditionally to limit the amount of data stored. The references pushed into logs might inadvertently retain other references, such as back to the global object.

JavaScript is responsible for creating ENORMOUS memory leaks

Answer №1

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