Tag: Browser-based

JavaScript and Memory Leaks

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on January 25, 2013.

I’ve written any number of books that either include JavaScript development directly or indirectly. For example, when you create a web application in C#, there is some JavaScript involved that might ruin your day unless you have some idea of what that code is doing and how it can go wrong. If you enable JavaScript on your Android phone or tablet, then you can also use JavaScript development techniques in that environment. Because JavaScript provides a well-known and standardized environment, you often find it used in places where you may not think to look, which means taking the time to actually review the code that your IDE generates for web-based applications.

One of my goals in writing a book is to introduce you to techniques that produce useful applications in an incredibly short time without writing bad code. The term bad code covers a lot of ground, but one of the more serious issues is one of memory leaks. Applications that have memory leaks will cause the application and everything else on the system to slow down due to a lack of usable memory. In addition, memory leaks can actually cause the application to crash or the system to freeze when all of the available memory is used up. So, it was with great interest that I read an LogRocket article recently entitled, How to escape from memory leaks in JavaScript. The article contains a lot of useful advice in writing good JavaScript code that won’t cause your users heartache.

One of the most important parts of this article is that it covers memory leaks as a process. There is a list of common memory leak types and how to identify them. It also introduces you to tools and techniques for fixing memory errors using Chrome DevTools.

It’s essential to know that this article doesn’t cover everything. A big one is that the memory leak you’re seeing in your application may not be due to your code—it may be caused by the browser. The potential for browser problems is an important one to keep in mind because these issues affect every application that runs, not just yours. However, when your application performs a lot of work that requires heavy memory use, the user may see your application as the culprit. It pays to track browser issues so that you can support your users properly and recommend browser updates for running your application when appropriate. For that matter, you can simply determine whether the user has one of the poorly designed browsers and tell the user to perform an update instead of running the application.

There are other potential sources of memory leaks. For example, using the wrong third party library could cause considerable woe when it comes to memory usage (amongst other issues). Consequently, you need to research any libraries or templates that you use carefully. The libraries, templates, and other tools discussed in my books are chosen with extreme care to ensure you get the best start possible in creating JavaScript applications.

One of the reasons I find JavaScript so compelling as a language is that it has grown to include enough features to create real applications that run in just about any browser on just about any platform. The ability to run applications anywhere at any time has been a long term goal of computer science and it finally seems to be a reality at a certain level. What are your thoughts on JavaScript? Let me know at [email protected].

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the New Year! It’s going to be an interesting year from a number of perspectives. I’m really looking forward to seeing the changes and I hope that you are too! Make sure you subscribe to my blog to keep up with all of the new material I provide with greater ease. A subscription will automatically send a synopsis of new content directly to your e-mail, which will make it a lot easier to determine whether you want to follow a certain post (and it’s associated comments).

The computer market will continue to move away from the desktop toward all sorts of mobile devices. Of course, this will make browser-based applications become even more popular because you can achieve the same look and feel no matter which platform you use to interact with the application. I’m not saying the desktop is dead, but look for browser-based applications to take on added importance. In some respects, browser-based applications can still be limited, so you’ll continue to see the desktop used in situations where a user must interact with complex data from multiple sources.

Self-sufficiency is going to take on added importance as well. There are a number of reasons for the increased participation by people. Of course, the economy continues to provide ample reason for many people who are looking to ways to make their money go further. A lot of people are starting to realize that self-sufficiency also comes with substantial health benefits and is also good for the environment. In fact, except for the time commitment and the requirement to learn new skills, self-sufficiency has a lot to recommend it. I’m planning to provide more emphasis on self-sufficiency in the coming months.

My blog will also feature some of the additional kinds of content that you’ve come to know and love. I’ll be posting a number of reviews and a bit more of my poetry as time permits. A few posts on writing technique are almost a requirement. A number of you have sent e-mail asking about my crafting. A few personal issues have kept me from posting on the crafts that I enjoy, but I plan to address that particular need soon. I hope that you continue to enjoy my blog and will let me know the sorts of content you’d like to see at [email protected]. In the meantime, Happy New Year!

 

Continuing Education

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m continually asking questions in my blog posts. In fact, you can find questions in a few of my books and more than a few readers have commented when I ask them questions as part of my correspondence with them. I often get the feeling that people think I should know everything simply because I write books of various sorts. In fact, I had to write a post not long ago entitled No, I Don’t Know Everything to address the issue. Experts become experts by asking questions and finding the answers. They remain experts by asking yet more questions and finding yet more answers. Often, these answers come from the strangest sources, which means that true experts look in every nook and cranny for answers that could easily elude someone else. Good authors snoop more than even the typical expert—yes, we’re just plain nosy. So, here I am today asking still more questions.

This year my continuing education has involved working with the latest version of the Entity Framework. The results of some of my efforts can be found in Microsoft ADO.NET Entity Framework Step by Step. You can also find some of my thoughts in the Entity Framework Development Step-by-Step category. I’ve been using some of my new found knowledge to build some applications for personal use. They may eventually appear as part of a book or on this blog (or I might simply choose to keep them to myself).

However, my main technical focus has been on browser-based application technology. I think the use of browser-based application technology will make it possible for the next revolution in computing to occur. It certainly makes it easier for a developer to create applications that run anywhere and on any device. You can find some of what I have learned in two new books HTML5 Programming with JavaScript for Dummies and CSS3 for Dummies. Of course, there are blog categories for these two books as well: HTML5 Programming with JavaScript for Dummies and Developing with CSS3 for Dummies. A current learning focus is on the SCAlable LAnguage (SCALA), which is a functional language (akin to F# and many other languages of the same type) based on Java.

Anyone who knows me very well realizes that my life doesn’t center on technology. I have a great number of other interests. When it comes to being outdoors, I’ve explored a number of new techniques this year as I planted some new trees. In fact, I’ll eventually share a technique I learned for removing small tree stumps. I needed a method for removing stumps of older fruit trees in order to plant new trees in the same location.

I’ve also shared a number of building projects with you, including the shelving in our larder and a special type of dolly you can use for moving chicken tractors safely. Self-sufficiency often involves building your own tools. In some cases, a suitable tool doesn’t exist, but more often the problem is one of cost. Buying a tool from the store or having someone else build it for you might be too expensive.

The point I’m trying to make is that life should be a continual learning process. There isn’t any way that you can learn everything there is to learn. Even the most active mind picks and chooses from the vast array of available learning materials. No matter what your interests might be, I encourage you to continue learning—to continue building your arsenal of knowledge. Let me know your thoughts on the learning process at [email protected].