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Subject:memory footprint ? 

shchenka

10:14
Thursday
8-Jan-2009

Does the 0.6.6 have a significantly larger memory footprint compared to 0.6.4 ? I've upgraded (omitting the 0.6.5) and it seems it tends to exit much more frequently than 0.6.4 did. This usually happens when I open the web browser or any other larger application at the same time and I wonder what might be the reason for this. I've reported this before but with 0.6.4 my impression was that it was pretty stable. I suspect the OS rather than the application of course, but on the other hand TMJ seems to be very prone to this, and this does not seem to happen to other apps, so I'm lost again :)
 

shchenka

10:15
Thursday
8-Jan-2009

P.S. and I'm using Symbian on N95, the latest firmware release.
 

shchenka

10:56
Thursday
8-Jan-2009

PS2.

I'm not using the vector maps version. will give it a try soon.
 

Stephen

11:41
Thursday
8-Jan-2009

Location:
Surrey, UK

Phone Model:
BB 9800 Torch
BlackBerry 8900
SE W910i
Nokia 5800

Hi Shchenka,

As far as I can think there shouldn't be a massive difference in memory usage between the versions, though the vector map version does add a little bit - the basic JAR file sizes for 0.6.4, 0.6.6(non-vm) and 0.6.6 (vector maps) are 214kB, 219kB and 229kB.

If you monitor the Total Memory and Memory Free fields on the Text/GENERAL page how do these vary? The Memory Free will cycle from a maximum amount down to zero, at which point the phones Java Machine runs its 'garbage collector' to free up space, and the value will jump back up to the maximum amount again. How large is this maximum compared to the Total Memory? For example, if Total Memory is 2Mb, but the maximum Free Memory only reaches say 20kB, then this suggests that the program is struggling to find free memory. What happens if you then Clear the Track, Route, Waypoints and Map Cache? If this suddenly boosts the maximum Free Memory then this might be the cause. Incidentally, the Main Menu/About... screen gives an estimate of the data used by the Track, Route and Waypoints.

Do you use the distance settings under Waypoint Synchronisation? - this will significantly reduce the number of waypoints downloaded from the website to the phone so might be useful in reducing memory usage.

Any clues?

Regards,
Stephen


 

shchenka

23:16
Tuesday
13-Jan-2009

Frankly, I'm not convinced if this is a memory management problem at all. Yesterday TMJ exited (very dirty, corrupting its config) when I took an incoming call. Nokia had released a new firmware today so I'll upgrade and see if it changes anything. Is there any way to turn some debug logging within TMJ so that it tries to write down what's going on when it's killed, or am I dreaming ? :)

What is strange is that it is not killed immediately when any other application starts, but randomly. Can be a couple of minutes later. However while with 0.6.4 it would survive in most cases, with 0.6.6 it does not. Maybe it's a coincidence, though... (but I have to admit it's annoying, particularly having to configure it again in the field).

Cheers.
 

Stephen

23:04
Thursday
15-Jan-2009

Location:
Surrey, UK

Phone Model:
BB 9800 Torch
BlackBerry 8900
SE W910i
Nokia 5800

Yes I agree it is very annoying when it crashes - its happened to me before (though fortunately very infrequently). The problem with having a saved debug log is that when it exits this 'violently' its more akin to a Ctrl-Alt-Del in Windows - ie the application doesn't even know that it is being terminated and so can't do much to log the event!

I do still suspect that the memory might be a factor - what sort of readings do you get in the Total Memory, Memory Free and Menu/About boxes? Also, have you had any of the Waypoint Tools functions running when its crashed (Proximity Alerts in particular) - this is one thing that I did change significantly between 0.6.4 and 0.6.6, and will now use more memory than it did before, especially with a large number of waypoints...

Cheers,
Stephen



 
 

shchenka

1:06
Friday
16-Jan-2009

I'll try to gather some more evidence, particularly about the memory usage.
I'll also try to limit the number of waypoints, although I had used more before without problems.

One new observation is that sometimes (well, today, just once for now) it crashes without any apparent reason, and without any other extra application running. Hmm, maybe upgrading the phone's firmware was not a good idea after all ? Or maybe it's time to change the mobile ;)

One other thing that confuses me but may be apparent to you is why does it corrupt its own configuration upon crash ? Or waypoints ?
Or track ? E.g. today after a crash some (but not all) waypoints disappear in some groups. Previously it would switch from the BT to use the internal GPS. I'll report back when I have more firm/useful observations.

I wonder if this happens to anyone else on N95 ?

Cheers.
 

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