For this workshop, we will work with a modified version of CatchUp, an open source app from Zac Sweers. The app has been modified to introduce memory leaks, and you have one job: fix all the leaks!
CatchUp requires the latest Android Studio Canary. Go here and click on DOWNLOAD 4.0 CANARY 4.
Download a zip of the source code here or check it out:
git clone https://github.com/pyricau/CatchLeaks.git
Open the project in Android Studio Canary, and then build and run the app. You can deploy to an emulator or device with an SDK version greater than 21 (Android 5 / Lollipop).
You should see a screen with several tabs, one for each news service.
In Android Studio, click on Profiler at the bottom, then +, select your device and select
the io.sweers.catchup.debug process. Once it is done loading, click on the Memory graph.
Rotate the screen a few times. If you're on an emulator, you can rotate back and forth with
Cmd + left arrow / Cmd + right arrow.
As you rotate the screen, notice how the memory is increasing, even if you force the garbage collector to run (by clicking on the trash icon in the memory profiler). There's a memory leak!
Follow the instructions here.
Now is a great time to take a look at the updated Fundamentals section and take a refresher on memory leaks!
Try rotating the screen again. This time, notice the "retained object" notification. Can you figure out what to do next?
LeakCanary should give you enough information to identify the source of the leak and fix it. If you're thinking of taking a random guess or are not sure how to proceed next, make sure you've read the Fundamentals then raise your hand, and we'll go through it together.
Before you fix the leak: notice how if you rotate the screen N times, the notification will say "N retained objects", however after the analysis LeakCanary will report only one leak. Why is that?
Fix the leak, and confirm that it isn't happening any more.
Once you're done, offer help to one of your neighbors. Teaching is a great way to learn! Let's try to all be done with this first leak before we individually move on to the next one.
Go the the Y tab (Hacker News), then go to the basketball tab (Dribble), then wait a bit. You should see a leak notification.
What's different about this leak?
Tap on the wheel in the top right corner and rotate the screen a few times.
Once you've found and fix this leak: can you think of ways to prevent this type of leaks from being introduced? Maybe notice how there's already something in place for that in that codebase.
Go the settings, the click on About and then Learn More
This one is a common mistake, often reported in StackOverflow #leakcanary questions. It is far from obvious, and the mistake is not well documented. Good luck!
Are you done? Don't worry there's plenty more you can do!
- Help one of your neighbors
- Update your app to LeakCanary 2 Beta 5
- Ask for feedback on some leaks in your own app
- Read the documentation and highlight confusing sections or missing details. You can open up a new issue or bring it up in person!