Leak in NSMutableArray - iphone

I have been pulling out my hair trying to figure out why this is leaking. In my .h file I have a synthesized property nonatomic, retained NSMutableArray. In my viewDidLoad I declare it as:
self.tableData = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
[self.tableData removeAllObjects];
fillData(self.tableData);
Throughout my application, I call [self.tableData removeAllObjects] and then repopulate it with the fillData(self.tableData) function. This function fills up the data from a static C++ string set:
void fillData(NSMutableArray* list)
{
for (set<string>::const_iterator itr = sortedData.begin(); itr != sortedData.end(); ++itr){
[list addObject:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%s", ((string)*itr).c_str()]];
}
}
In my dealloc method I do:
[self.tableData removeAllObjects], [self.tableData release], tableData = nil;
Where did I drop the ball? Instruments says it's in the [list addObject....] line.
Thanks

self.tableData = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
[self.tableData removeAllObjects];
fillData(self.tableData);
+1 retain for alloc, +1 retain for using the property's setter. You haven't balanced the +1 from alloc. If you are going to use the setter:
self.tableData = [NSMutableArray array];
fillData(self.tableData);
Note that removeAllObjects in that is completely pointless.
This is odd, too:
[self.tableData removeAllObjects], [self.tableData release], tableData = nil;
First, don't bother removing the objects. When the array is deallocated, it'll release all objects. Secondly, using the setter to call release and then immediately do a direct assignment is inconsistent. Either do:
self.tableData = nil;
Or:
[tableData release], tableData = nil;
(Note that the use of the , in all of this is also purely for your benefit -- it has no impact on generated code.)
Also, use stringWithUTF8String: and not stringWithFormat:.

Not sure if it's the leak, but this looks like it's a problem:
self.tableData = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
You say that tableData is a property that's retained. Try:
self.tableData = [NSMutableArray arrayWithCapacity:10];
That way the property retains it and the array itself is autoreleased. Your release in dealloc will bring the retain count back down to zero.

The problem is that your property is set as retain, and you set it to an already retained object.
You should do it like this:
// viewDidLoad
NSMutableArray *array = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
self.tableData = array;
[array release]; // this is important
// dealloc
self.tableData = nil; // will automatically release the array

In your dealloc, you use properties which retain the tableData again. That is not really what you want, so do:
[tableData release];
or
[self->tableData release]; // not necessary, but some prefer it.
or
self.tableData = nil; // property will handle release
No need to clear the tableData, no need to set anything to nil (you are deallocating, so nothing will access it anymore).

Related

How to release an NSMutableArray?

I have an NSMutableArray with the following property:
#property (nonatomic, strong) NSMutableArray *alarmTableArray;
alarmTableArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc]init];
FMDBDatabaseAccess *db = [[FMDBDatabaseAccess alloc] init];
alarmTableArray = [db getAlarm];
I tried releasing this array but I end up with EXC_BAD_ACCESS.
I am really worried about this.
How to release this array?
You're using the descriptor of "strong" which is an ARC term. This should be retain and if you just set the property to nil it will release it automatically. You should set it to nil in your viewDidUnload since your ViewWillDissappear only means your viewcontroller is leaving visibility and not that it is being destroyed.
Updated Answer
I think I know what you're trying to do. You want grab an array of rows from your SQL and store it in one of your array.
One of the techniques for getting rows of data from SQL and storing into a class instance variable array is to NOT return a temporary array but pass the class instance variable array as a reference into your method and modify the array directly.
So instead of this pseudo-code
-(NSMutableArray *)doSomething
{
NSMutableArray *tempArray;
while (DB select statement has found rows)
{
CockTail *objCT = [[CockTail alloc] init];
objCT.name = #"...";
objCT.price = #"...";
[tempArray addObject:objCT];
[objCT release];
}
return [tempArray autorelease];
}
// class instance variable array
instanceVarArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
instanceVarArray = [self doSomething]; // here is where you confusion arise
You can do it this way:
-(void)doSomething:(NSMutableArray *)paramArray
{
// remove previously fetched data
[paramArray removeAllObjects];
SQL select statement
while(has rows)
{
CockTail *objCT = [[CockTail alloc] init];
objCT.name = #"...";
objCT.price = #"...";
// NOTE: we are directly modifying our class instance variable array
// here since it was passed by reference :D
// and so there is no need to worry about releasing the array
[paramArray addObject:objCT];
[objCT release];
}
}
// Now all you do is pass in your class instance variable array
instanceVarArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
[self doSomething:instanceVarArray];
Original Answer
Um, maybe I am wrong but aren't you essentially throwing away that "alloc init" on the first line here when you assign the array something from your FMDBDatabaseAccess:
// LINE 1: this instance of NSMutableArray here is allocated
alarmTableArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc]init];
// LINE 2
FMDBDatabaseAccess *db = [[FMDBDatabaseAccess alloc] init];
// LINE 3:this line here essential breaks the pointer link point to the NSMutableArray instance on line 1
alarmTableArray = [db getAlarm];
Now unless you do
// LINE 4
[alarmTableArray retain];
Otherwise, your alarmTableArray was never allocated (since you overwrote the pointer link). And as a result, you've caused a memory leak as your profiler told you.
Doing a release now would give your that EXEC_BAD_ACCESS
What I think you want to do is this:
alarmTableArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc]init];
FMDBDatabaseAccess *db = [[FMDBDatabaseAccess alloc] init];
// this now uses the setter method (mutator method generated by #property) to do the copy
self.alarmTableArray = [db getAlarm];
Looking at your while loop, I have to ask why are you releasing a local scope variable?
CockTail *cocktailValues = [[CockTail alloc] init];
...
[cocktails addObject:cocktailValues];
[cocktailValues release];
Breakdown of each line of code above:
When you alloc and init the CockTail object the release/retain count is 0.
Adding the object to the NSMutableArray increases the release/retain count to 1.
Releasing the CockTail object after you added it to array reduce the release/retain count back down to 0.
Therefore, later when you release the NSMutableArray or try to access an object in it, the objects are already gone.
Remember the number one rule, only release what you retain.

NSMutableArray: Memory management while calling methods

In my iOS app, I am using a NSMutableArray, named imageMArray. I have set its getter and setter properties and instantiated it.
In viewDidLoad:
imageMArray=[[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithArray:CategoryImages];
imageMArray=[self shuffleOnlyArray:imageMArray];
In ShuffleOnlyArray Method:
NSMutableArray *destArray1 = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithCapacity: [sourceArray count]] ;
return destArray1;
In shuffle Method:
imageMArray=[[self shuffleOnlyArray:imageMArray] retain];
There appears to be a memory leak in the Shuffle method.
Should I release imageMArray or set it to nil? If it should be released, should it be autoreleased?
imageMArray=[[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithArray:CategoryImages];
In the above statement, you have a memoryleak.
Instead you can have like as follows.
imageMArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithArray:CategoryImages];
In ShuffleOnlyArray Method, return the autoreleased object.
NSMutableArray *destArray1 = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithCapacity: [sourceArray count]] ;
return [destArray1 autorelease];
But after you get it, retain (take the ownership) the array object.
imageMArray=[[self shuffleOnlyArray:imageMArray] retain];
Edit
In shuffle method, do as follows:
NSMutableArray *imageMArray1 = [imageMArray mutableCopy];
if( imageMArray )
{
[imageMArray release];
}
imageMArray=[[self shuffleOnlyArray:imageMArray1] retain];
[imageMArray1 release];
Edit 2:
One more solution:
Use the category to shuffle as mentioned in the SO link
No need of creating new and releasing the arrays.
1 You already have a memory leak in the following lines.
imageMArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithArray:CategoryImages];
imageMArray = [self shuffleOnlyArray:imageMArray];
In the first line you create an object with retain count 1.
Then you say that your imageMArray pointer points to other object. You should release the first object, because you louse the reference to the fist object and you can not release it after you change the reference!
2 You should not use retain because your ShuffleOnlyArray method returns a retained object.
Your factory method should return an autorelease object and the caller of the factory should decide if if will retain it or not.
Hope I was clear enough

iphone: How to solve NSArray memory Leak?

I am releasing NSArray and NSMutableArray but its show memory leak. while ZoneData code is like this
-(ZoneData*) initWithZoneName:(NSString *)zoneNameIn SdName:(NSString *)sdNameIn eCount:(NSString *)eCountIn iCount:(NSString *)iCountIn StandLat:(NSString *)standLatIn StandLong:(NSString *)standLongIn
{
self = [super init];
if (self)
{
zoneName = [zoneNameIn copy];
lsdName = [sdNameIn copy];
leCount = [eCountIn intValue];
liCount = [iCountIn intValue];
standLat = [standLatIn copy];
standLong = [standLongIn copy];
}
return self;
}
how to solve this?
The problem is your instance variables. In your -init, you are correctly assigning them to copies of the strings from the array. However, you need t also release them in -dealloc.
-(void) dealloc
{
[zoneName release];
[lsdName release];
[standLat release];
[standLong release];
[super dealloc];
}
Now, you may be asking why the leaks tool is telling you the leaks are where you create the NSArray with the strings in it instead of the init method. The reason is that -copy for immutable objects is optimised to do nothing except send retain to self. So those copies you have as instance variables are in reality the same objects as was created by -componentsSeparatedByString:
componentsSeparatedByString: returns an autoreleased NSArray. You are not supposed to release that yourself, but the closest NSAutoreleasePool will do that for you. In line 61 you are overreleasing the array.
If you are concerned about the memory usage while performing the loop you can clear autoreleased objects in each iteration of the loop:
for (...)
{
NSAutoreleasePool *pool = [[NSAutoreleasePool alloc] init];
// your loop contents.
[pool drain];
}

Preventing to alloc the same array more than once

A beginner's problem: I have a method which puts data into a MutableArray. Potentially, this method can be called more than once and I am a bit concerned that it will leak memory as I am allocating the array every time it gets called:
indexContent = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
int numberOfEntries = [noteBookContent count]/3;
for (int k=0; k < numberOfEntries; k++) {
IndexItem *newItem = [[IndexItem alloc] init];
newItem.itemTitle = [noteBookContent objectAtIndex:(k*3)];
newItem.itemPage = k;
if (![[noteBookContent objectAtIndex:(k*3)] isEqualToString:#""]) {
[indexContent addObject:newItem];
}
[newItem release];
}
What will actually happen if indexContent = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init]; is called more than once? If it's bad, how can I prevent this? Should I call this, for instance, in the viewDidLoad? But how would I go about it if I try to do 'lazy-loading', i.e. only allocate indexContent if I really need it? Is there a way to check if it has already been allocated?
I am sorry if all of this is obvious, but I am struggling with this. Perhaps it's a basic concept which I haven't fully grasped yet. Thanks!
EDIT:
I have
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *indexContent;
in my header
If you call your function more then once you will leak memory due to the fact that you are not releasing already allocated memory from the previouse call. Simple check would be like this:
if(indexContent)
[indexContent release]
Read memory management docs from apple the will help you a lot.
if (indexContent == nil) indexContent = [NSMutableArray new]; // i screwed up logic first time. derp.
Make sure that when you release indexContent you set it to nil;
[indexContent release];
indexContent = nil;
(Unless it is the dealloc method, but probably still a good idea there)
Note that this assumes you want to re-use and potentially further fill the existing array. If not, you could removeAllObjects or you could release the existing and create anew.
Or, if an #property, you can:
self.indexContent = [NSMutableArray array]; // not +new!!
Or, in that method:
[indexContent release];
indexContent = [NSMutableArray new];
Surround code with a check for nil, if it is nil then allocate the array
//check if it has been allocated
if(indexContent == nil)
{
indexContent = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
int numberOfEntries = [noteBookContent count]/3;
for (int k=0; k < numberOfEntries; k++) {
IndexItem *newItem = [[IndexItem alloc] init];
newItem.itemTitle = [noteBookContent objectAtIndex:(k*3)];
newItem.itemPage = k;
if (![[noteBookContent objectAtIndex:(k*3)] isEqualToString:#""]) {
[indexContent addObject:newItem];
}
[newItem release];
}
}
It depends. Is indexContent declared as a retain #property? If so, the runtime will take care of releasing the previous array. If not, and you don't explicitly release it, then yes, it'll leak.
You should also make sure you are releasing indexContext in your dealloc method.
EDIT: As #bbum mentioned, you'll have to use dot notation. self.indexContent = <whatever>; My bad for overlooking this.

memory leak situation in iphone

I have a memory leak when i call a method that return me a string----
the method definition is as follows
-(NSMutableArray *)read
{
NSMutableArray *dataArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
//picking data from database here
return dataArray;
}
this show a big memory leak
i also tried--- NSMutableArray *dataArray = [[[NSMutableArray alloc] init]autorelease];
but this time leack checking process gets hanged
i also cannot release that array before return
please help
-(NSMutableArray *)read
{
NSMutableArray *dataArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
//picking data from database here
return dataArray;
}
Anything that uses the method read will expect to get back an object it does not own. However, as written here, dataArray is still owned at the point of return. You can't release it because that might make it go away altogether. You must, in this instance autorelease the array. You can either do this:
-(NSMutableArray *)read
{
NSMutableArray *dataArray = [[[NSMutableArray alloc] init] autorelease];
//picking data from database here
return dataArray;
}
or this
-(NSMutableArray *)read
{
NSMutableArray *dataArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
//picking data from database here
return [dataArray autorelease];
}
You say "leak checking process get hanged" but I'm really not sure what you mean by that. Whether it hangs, crashes or plays the Botswana National Anthem, you definitely need to autorelease the returned array and any other problem is actually a different problem. Possibly, you are forgetting to retain the data elsewhere.
Another answer more...
There are many conventions in cocoa/cocoa-touch, there is one of them that says that if a method has the prefix init then you will have the ownership of that object (hence you have to release it)
This is NOT your case, hence if you do:
DatabaseReader *dbReader = [[DatabaseReader alloc] init];
NSMutableArray *mutArray = [dbReader read];
[dbReader release];
you are NOT supposed to release mutArray. BUT, the object created HAS to be released by someone. So you can do as JeremyP wrote. alloc/init and put it into a autorelease pool inside read method implementation. Or, you can do:
-(NSMutableArray *)read
{
NSMutableArray *dataArray = [NSMutableArray array];
//IMPORTANT:
//Did you noticed that I am not using any method
//with init prefix for the creation of dataArray ?
//so I don't need to release by my self ;)
//picking data from database here
return dataArray;
}
Which is basically the same. ;)
Ownership of the returned object may be returned to the object that receives from this function. You may do some debugging with the object's retain count using something like this...
NSLog(#"Retain count: %i", [dataArray retainCount]);
Turn on the debugging console (Command + R in Xcode) to see the NSLog output.