BUG: Placing Icons in Picture Object Causes Memory Leak (176765)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 3.0b
  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 5.0a
  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 6.0
This article was previously published under Q176765

SYMPTOMS

A program that loads a series of icon files into the Picture property of a Visual FoxPro image object causes a memory leak in Visual FoxPro 3.0b, 5.0x, and 6.0. Eventually, the operating system becomes unstable and the computer locks.

CAUSE

Loading the icon files may create a leak in process memory. As the program runs, increasing amounts of RAM are consumed. When the program starts using virtual memory, performance suffers and the computer may lock.

RESOLUTION

Currently, there is no resolution, but following are two workarounds:
  • Use a bitmap instead of an icon file to display an image in the Picture property. -or-

  • Use an OLE container control that contains the Visual FoxPro HWND .ocx control to display the icon.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

WARNING: Running the code below causes a low memory situation on the computer. This condition may cause the operating system to become unstable. Close all open applications and save your data before using this procedure. In Microsoft Windows 95 and Microsoft Windows NT, press the CTRL+ALT+DEL keys simultaneously to invoke the Close Dialog window or the Task Manager, respectively.

Create and run a program that contains the following code: 
   LOCAL ARRAY laIcons[1,1]
   LOCAL loForm, lnI, lnFile, lnFiles

   loForm = CREATEOBJECT('Form')
   loForm.HEIGHT = 600
   loForm.WIDTH = 200

   FOR lnI = 1 TO 10
   loForm.ADDOBJECT('imgObject' + ALLTRIM(STR(lnI)), 'Image')
   WITH loForm.CONTROLS[lnI]
   .LEFT    = 10
   .TOP     = 10 + (lnI ) * 50
   .WIDTH   = 25
   .HEIGHT  = 25
   .VISIBLE = .T.
   ENDWITH
   ENDFOR

   loForm.ADDOBJECT('lblCounter', 'Label')
   loForm.lblCounter.TOP      = 1
   loForm.lblCounter.LEFT     = 1
   loForm.lblCounter.AUTOSIZE = .T.
   loForm.lblCounter.VISIBLE  = .T.
   loForm.SHOW()
   lnFiles = ADIR(laIcons, HOME() ;
   + 'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\*.ICO')

   FOR lnI = 1 TO 1000
   loForm.lblCounter.CAPTION = 'Loop :' + PADL(lnI, 4)
   FOR lnFile = 1 TO lnFiles - 10
   loForm.CONTROLS[ 1].PICTURE = ;
   HOME() + 'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\' + laIcons[lnFile , 1]
   loForm.CONTROLS[ 2].PICTURE = ;
   HOME() + 'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\' + laIcons[lnFile+1, 1]
   loForm.CONTROLS[ 3].PICTURE = ;
   HOME() + 'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\'+ laIcons[lnFile+2, 1]
   loForm.CONTROLS[ 4].PICTURE = ;
   HOME() + 'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\'+laIcons[lnFile + 3, 1]
   loForm.CONTROLS[ 5].PICTURE = ;
   HOME() + 'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\'+laIcons[lnFile + 4, 1]
   loForm.CONTROLS[ 6].PICTURE = ;
   HOME() + 'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\'+laIcons[lnFile + 5, 1]
   loForm.CONTROLS[ 7].PICTURE = ;
   HOME() + 'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\'+laIcons[lnFile + 6, 1]
   loForm.CONTROLS[ 8].PICTURE = ;
   HOME() + 'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\' + laIcons[lnFile+7, 1]
   loForm.CONTROLS[ 9].PICTURE = ;
   HOME()+'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\' + laIcons[lnFile + 8, 1]
   loForm.CONTROLS[10].PICTURE = ;
   HOME()+'SAMPLES\GRAPHICS\ICONS\COMPUTER\' + laIcons[lnFile + 9, 1]
   IF INKEY(0.001, 'HM') = 27
   CANCEL
   ENDIF
   ENDFOR
   ENDFOR
The first indication of a memory problem appears when the icons no longer appear in the individual image objects. The number of iterations before this symptom appears depends on the amount of physical RAM installed on the computer. Once the memory leak consumes all the physical RAM, Visual FoxPro begins using virtual memory. At this point, performance suffers greatly and the operating system may lock.

REFERENCES

Visual FoxPro Help 3.0b, 5.0, 5.0a; search on: Visual FoxPro HWND Control
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/10/2003
Keywords:kbbug kbfix KB176765
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.