Re: Memory leaks(Howard)

[Brent Thirsk <thirsk@telusplanet.net>]

Howard Chu wrote:
> 
> Which version of the MiNT kernel did you try this with? I've been using
> 1.12.xx for a long time, and this kind of leak has never occurred. (Yah,
> been too lazy to catch up to the 1.14.xx releases...)
>   -- Howard
>
version 1.14.7,  I'll replace with 1.12 and check that one out and
advise. 
ps I corrected the date below. I only bought my first atari in 1986.
  so i won't comment on the time-date discussion, as I apparantly can't 
  tell time yet.
	Brent

>   History
>   I have been running a multi-user system based on the Micro-RTX Kernel
>   since 1991. I have written a test program that dumps all system
>   information regarding all processes. This includes program locations in
>   memory,"data, bss, and text size" lists memory control blocks with size
>   of each chunk, and much more. I compile programs to allocate the same
>   magic figure for memory alloction, 256000 bytes. The idea was when a
>   program was unloaded, a new program would be loaded into the same
>   segment for memory which I had just released. This is not the case, as
>   the micro rtx kernal always seemed to leave 64 byes still allocated to
>   something.
> 
>   Since I am converting to the mint opertating system, I was curious how
>   memory allocation compared. I find that there is 448 bytes lost each
>   time I load and unload a program in a multiuser environment. This leads
>   to fragmentation of memory. A small test of loading and unloading the
>   same program from the same terminal 3 times resulted in going from 9
>   free blocks of memory to 13 free blocks, with a loss of 1344 bytes
>   available, 448 per iteration.
> 
>   Why is all the memory not released. I release memory via gemdos(76)Pterm
>   which is documented as releasing all memory control blocks. Am I missing
>   something. I have been trying to build a clean, orderly system, where
>   processes can be allocated memory, without fragmenting the memory every
>   time programs are changed. As my system runs for 12 hours per day and
>   processes inventory reciepts, invoicing, A/R, ordering, programs are
>   changed quite frequently.
>   Is this a pipe dream, or is it a problem.
> 
>   Any sugestions would be appreciated.
>   Brent