Need a tool to detect memory leaks in C code

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+5 Q:

Need a tool to detect memory leaks in C code

Hi guys,

Is there a good application (that has some kind of gui) for testing memory leaks in c code. I would really like to test my assignment/programme but being very new to this, i struggle with using the terminal to do things, especially using gdb for debugging (to me it feels like a blast from the past, where i could be using some visual debugger).

Thanks for the help

edit: platform doesn't matter - i am running everything ;)

+13 A:

Depending on the platform (you don't mention it) Valgrind is fantastic on Linux systems. It has no GUI, but doesn't need one.

Just run valgrind <path to your application + arguments> and it will run your application and spit out any errors during memory operations.

Add the --leak-check=full and --show-reachable=yes options after valgrind to get stack-traces of where your memory leaks originate.

Andy Shellam 2010-03-19 09:30:29

"It has no GUI, but doesn't need one" -- I beg to differ, especially since the OP specifically confessed to being uncomfortable with the command line. That said, valgrind's the best tool I know of.

ptomato 2010-03-19 09:32:36

i can manage the command line if i no what i am typing i suppose, as long as the commands are not to taxing. I struggle with doing lots of terminal stuff, but if its minimal commands and i can just read the output then that should be ok i guess?

sbsp 2010-03-19 09:35:08

@sbsp: Once you see the kind of detail val-grind produces, you won't mind. :) (It's *awesome*.)

GMan 2010-03-19 09:38:47

@ptomato - I've been using Valgrind for about 3 years, and the only two options I know (and need) are those two I gave in my answer. If the OP has at least managed to use GDB (which by the sound of it, they have) then Valgrind will be a piece of cake. I actually use Valgrind for debugging some times :)

Andy Shellam 2010-03-19 09:50:37

If you are using Eclipse, then valgrind can be integrated into the IDE using the Linux Tools module (http://www.eclipse.org/linuxtools/).

Let_Me_Be 2010-03-19 10:31:35

@Let_Me_Be - ooh, great tip! +1

Andy Shellam 2010-03-19 11:29:21

valgrind is pretty good on Linux, but it only has a command line interface

Tuomas Pelkonen 2010-03-19 09:31:21

+2 A:

Purify is a great application for this.

mouviciel 2010-03-19 09:34:16

+1 A:

There's a gui for analyzing valgrind results: http://alleyoop.sourceforge.net/. Besides, there's (non-free) purify which is great, and i believe there's a trial. It has a GUI.

Drakosha 2010-03-19 09:34:55

On Windows, HeapMon may be of some interest, although it does not explicitly tell you where are your leaks.

Adrien Plisson 2010-03-19 09:38:05

If you're using Microsoft's DevStudio then the C run-time library has plenty of memory allocation tracking tools already built-in:

The Debug Heap

_CrtSetDbgFlag

It amazes me how few programmers seem to be aware of these tools!

Skizz 2010-03-19 09:54:44

ansaurus

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Need a tool to detect memory leaks in C code

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