Flex memory leak issue

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gordonm
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Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Tue Feb 21, 2012 12:08 am

Hi,

We have been successfully using Ranorex for a few months now to automate our Flex application. Our Flex application runs in an IE browser window. Previously, to instrument the application, we were using the Ranorex 3.0 "RanorexFlex4.SWF" file. After upgrading to Ranorex 3.2.1 we now make use of the "RanorexAutomation.SWF". This offered us much better object recognition in our application.

However, we have now hit a serious problem which didn't occur with the Ranorex 3.0 file. As our tests are running, the memory usage by IE climbs and climbs to the point where Flex shows an exclamation icon indicating that it has run out of memory.

It is as though Ranorex, by accessing the Flex objects, makes Flex leave memory behind. The same memory issue occurs whether we put the SWF on the server or use the Pre-Loader method.

Just to be clear, the memory leak appears in Internet Explorer, not the code we run Ranorex from.

Any help much appreciated,

Gordon

gordonm
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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:30 am

As an addition to this, here is some information about the "Flex Exclamation Mark of Death". Noting the fact that our Flex app does not have this issue when tested manually, it does point to a memory leak in the RanorexAutomation.swf file.

http://forums.adobe.com/message/3087523

Thanks,

Gordon

gordonm
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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:35 am

As an additional bit of background as to how this issue is exposed:

1. Our Flex application has a Flex Container that has potentially 1000+ text boxes in it.
2. Our C# code takes the Flex container object and cycles through the text boxes looking for a match.
3. Once a matching text box has been found, the text box is clicked on.

Could it be the case that the quantity of objects we are dealing with here is bringing the leak to the fore?

gordonm
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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:39 pm

Additional info - My test clients are Windows 7 Enterprise (64-bit)

Can someone from the Support Team please let me know if this is being investigated please?

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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by Support Team » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:46 pm

Hi,
gordonm wrote:Can someone from the Support Team please let me know if this is being investigated please?
Sorry for the late response. We were able to reproduce the issue and this will be fixed with Ranorex 3.2.2.

Regards,
Peter
Ranorex Team

gordonm
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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:56 pm

Thanks for your response Peter, do you have a target date for 3.2.2? It's just so we can map out a plan of action in the short term.

Thanks,

Gordon

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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by Support Team » Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:00 pm

Hi,

Ranorex 3.2.2 should be available next week.

Regards,
Peter
Ranorex Team

gordonm
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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:02 pm

That's excellent. Thanks very much for your help Peter!

Gordon

gordonm
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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Tue Mar 06, 2012 5:07 pm

Hi,

Thanks very much for the quick resolution to this - 3.2.2 no longer appears to have the mem leak problem.

Thanks,

Gordon

gordonm
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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Fri Jun 29, 2012 9:32 am

Hi,

Unfortunately this Flex memory leak seems to have returned as soon as we upgraded to 3.3.0.

Can you check to see if the fix been lost somehow?

Thanks,

Gordon.

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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by Support Team » Fri Jun 29, 2012 12:57 pm

Hi,

Yes, we will analyze the issue and come back to you as soon as we found the issue.

Regards,
Markus
Ranorex Support Team

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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by Support Team » Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:10 pm

Hi,

We analyzed it and in our case it appeared although our plugin was not loaded, so can you test if it also appears although Ranorex is not used?
With which flex player version are you working and did you see the issue with the same objects or with other ones?
If it happens with other elements, can you send us a Ranorex Snapshot of them?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Markus
Ranorex Support Team

gordonm
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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:34 pm

Hi,

My Flash version is: WIN 11,2,202,235 (Debug player).

No, if I test manually, the memory within IE stays relatively stable. If I run our Ranorex script though, the memory within IE goes up and up until the application crashes.

Although I can't say for sure, the most likely object to cause the issue would be Ranorex.Button (as we deal with a lot of those in the script that causes us problems).

Let me know if you need any further information, or whether this is enough.

Regards,

Gordon

gordonm
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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by gordonm » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:35 pm

I should add I am using 64-bit Windows 7 and IE 8.

Thanks,

Gordon

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Re: Flex memory leak issue

Post by Support Team » Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:24 pm

Hi,

Thanks for the information!
We tested it with a pop up window which includes 1000 buttons, the flash player 11.3 was used.
We opened it, then closed it, and checked the total memory. These steps were executed several times without using Ranorex and we noticed that there was a memory leak but it wasn't caused by Ranorex.

As we cannot reproduce it on our machines, would it be possible to get access to your application or to send us a sample which illustrates the problem?
This would help us to identify the issue.

Regards,
Markus
Ranorex Support Team