There are two main tools I like to use for any memory related stuff in my c++ code. Following is an example code I had written as my implementation of a shared pointer. I think my code works as expected but not sure how much memory I am leaking if any.
#include <iostream>
template <typename T>
class MySharedPtr{
public:
MySharedPtr(T val){
resource_ptr = new T(val);
c_ptr = new int(1);
};
MySharedPtr<T>(const MySharedPtr<T> & ptr){
std::cout << "copy constructor \n";
resource_ptr = ptr.resource_ptr;
(*ptr.c_ptr)++;
this->c_ptr = ptr.c_ptr;
}
MySharedPtr<T>& operator=(const MySharedPtr<T> & ptr){
std::cout << "copy assignment operator\n";
if(this != &ptr){
(*ptr.c_ptr)++;
this->c_ptr = ptr.c_ptr;
this->resource_ptr = ptr.resource_ptr;
}
return *this;
}
// delete move constructors...
MySharedPtr(MySharedPtr && ptr) = delete;
MySharedPtr & operator=(MySharedPtr && ptr) = delete;
MySharedPtr & operator *(){
return resource_ptr;
}
MySharedPtr* operator ->(){
return resource_ptr;
}
virtual ~MySharedPtr(){
std::cout << *c_ptr << '\n';
if(*c_ptr > 0){
(*c_ptr)--;
}else{
delete c_ptr;
delete resource_ptr;
}
}
int use_count(){
return *c_ptr;
}
private:
int * c_ptr;
T * resource_ptr;
};
int main(){
int x;
MySharedPtr<decltype(x)> sp(1);
{
MySharedPtr<decltype(x)> sp1(2);
sp1 = sp;
std::cout << "use count is " << sp.use_count() << '\n';
}
sp = sp;
std::cout << "use count is " << sp.use_count() << '\n';
return 0;
}
Google Sanitizer
The command:
/usr/local/Cellar/gcc/8.2.0/bin/g++-8 -std=c++17 -g -o2 -fsanitize=address -fno-omit-frame-pointer shared_ptr.cpp -o shared_ptr && ASAN_OPTIONS=detect_leaks=1 ./shared_ptr
The output:
copy assignment operator
use count is 2
2
copy assignment operator
use count is 1
1
=================================================================
==25533==ERROR: LeakSanitizer: detected memory leaks
Direct leak of 4 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from:
#0 0x526b18 in operator new(unsigned long) (/home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs+0x526b18)
#1 0x52b50c in MySharedPtr<int>::MySharedPtr(int) /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs.cpp:9:19
#2 0x52b112 in main /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs.cpp:62:28
#3 0x7f6507f483d4 in __libc_start_main /usr/src/debug/glibc-2.17-c758a686/csu/../csu/libc-start.c:274
Direct leak of 4 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from:
#0 0x526b18 in operator new(unsigned long) (/home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs+0x526b18)
#1 0x52b47b in MySharedPtr<int>::MySharedPtr(int) /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs.cpp:8:26
#2 0x52b134 in main /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs.cpp:64:32
#3 0x7f6507f483d4 in __libc_start_main /usr/src/debug/glibc-2.17-c758a686/csu/../csu/libc-start.c:274
Direct leak of 4 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from:
#0 0x526b18 in operator new(unsigned long) (/home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs+0x526b18)
#1 0x52b50c in MySharedPtr<int>::MySharedPtr(int) /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs.cpp:9:19
#2 0x52b134 in main /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs.cpp:64:32
#3 0x7f6507f483d4 in __libc_start_main /usr/src/debug/glibc-2.17-c758a686/csu/../csu/libc-start.c:274
Direct leak of 4 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from:
#0 0x526b18 in operator new(unsigned long) (/home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs+0x526b18)
#1 0x52b47b in MySharedPtr<int>::MySharedPtr(int) /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs.cpp:8:26
#2 0x52b112 in main /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs.cpp:62:28
#3 0x7f6507f483d4 in __libc_start_main /usr/src/debug/glibc-2.17-c758a686/csu/../csu/libc-start.c:274
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: 16 byte(s) leaked in 4 allocation(s).
The explanation: The address sanitizer has precisely pointed out the line numbers. It is very useful in coming up with a fix.
Valgrind
Command:
valgrind --tool=memcheck --leak-check=full --show-leak-kinds=all --track-origins=yes ./smart_ptrs
The output:
[aarna@localhost practice]$ valgrind --tool=memcheck --leak-check=full --show-leak-kinds=all --track-origins=yes ./smart_ptrs ==25564== Memcheck, a memory error detector ==25564== Copyright (C) 2002-2017, and GNU GPL'd, by Julian Seward et al. ==25564== Using Valgrind-3.13.0 and LibVEX; rerun with -h for copyright info ==25564== Command: ./smart_ptrs ==25564== ==25564==Shadow memory range interleaves with an existing memory mapping. ASan cannot proceed correctly. ABORTING. ==25564==ASan shadow was supposed to be located in the [0x00007fff7000-0x10007fff7fff] range. ==25564==Process memory map follows: 0x000000400000-0x00000055d000 /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs 0x00000075c000-0x00000075d000 /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs 0x00000075d000-0x000000760000 /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs 0x000000760000-0x000001447000 0x000004000000-0x000004022000 /usr/lib64/ld-2.17.so 0x000004022000-0x000004036000 0x00000403f000-0x000004055000 0x000004221000-0x000004222000 /usr/lib64/ld-2.17.so 0x000004222000-0x000004223000 /usr/lib64/ld-2.17.so 0x000004223000-0x000004224000 0x000004224000-0x000004225000 0x000004a24000-0x000004a25000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/vgpreload_core-amd64-linux.so 0x000004a25000-0x000004c24000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/vgpreload_core-amd64-linux.so 0x000004c24000-0x000004c25000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/vgpreload_core-amd64-linux.so 0x000004c25000-0x000004c26000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/vgpreload_core-amd64-linux.so 0x000004c26000-0x000004c34000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/vgpreload_memcheck-amd64-linux.so 0x000004c34000-0x000004e34000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/vgpreload_memcheck-amd64-linux.so 0x000004e34000-0x000004e35000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/vgpreload_memcheck-amd64-linux.so 0x000004e35000-0x000004e36000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/vgpreload_memcheck-amd64-linux.so 0x000004e36000-0x000004f1f000 /usr/lib64/libstdc++.so.6.0.19 0x000004f1f000-0x00000511e000 /usr/lib64/libstdc++.so.6.0.19 0x00000511e000-0x000005126000 /usr/lib64/libstdc++.so.6.0.19 0x000005126000-0x000005128000 /usr/lib64/libstdc++.so.6.0.19 0x000005128000-0x00000513d000 0x00000513d000-0x00000523e000 /usr/lib64/libm-2.17.so 0x00000523e000-0x00000543d000 /usr/lib64/libm-2.17.so 0x00000543d000-0x00000543e000 /usr/lib64/libm-2.17.so 0x00000543e000-0x00000543f000 /usr/lib64/libm-2.17.so 0x00000543f000-0x000005456000 /usr/lib64/libpthread-2.17.so 0x000005456000-0x000005655000 /usr/lib64/libpthread-2.17.so 0x000005655000-0x000005656000 /usr/lib64/libpthread-2.17.so 0x000005656000-0x000005657000 /usr/lib64/libpthread-2.17.so 0x000005657000-0x00000565b000 0x00000565b000-0x000005662000 /usr/lib64/librt-2.17.so 0x000005662000-0x000005861000 /usr/lib64/librt-2.17.so 0x000005861000-0x000005862000 /usr/lib64/librt-2.17.so 0x000005862000-0x000005863000 /usr/lib64/librt-2.17.so 0x000005863000-0x000005865000 /usr/lib64/libdl-2.17.so 0x000005865000-0x000005a65000 /usr/lib64/libdl-2.17.so 0x000005a65000-0x000005a66000 /usr/lib64/libdl-2.17.so 0x000005a66000-0x000005a67000 /usr/lib64/libdl-2.17.so 0x000005a67000-0x000005a7c000 /usr/lib64/libgcc_s-4.8.5-20150702.so.1 0x000005a7c000-0x000005c7b000 /usr/lib64/libgcc_s-4.8.5-20150702.so.1 0x000005c7b000-0x000005c7c000 /usr/lib64/libgcc_s-4.8.5-20150702.so.1 0x000005c7c000-0x000005c7d000 /usr/lib64/libgcc_s-4.8.5-20150702.so.1 0x000005c7d000-0x000005e40000 /usr/lib64/libc-2.17.so 0x000005e40000-0x00000603f000 /usr/lib64/libc-2.17.so 0x00000603f000-0x000006043000 /usr/lib64/libc-2.17.so 0x000006043000-0x000006045000 /usr/lib64/libc-2.17.so 0x000006045000-0x00000639c000 0x00000639c000-0x00000679c000 0x000058000000-0x00005823b000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/memcheck-amd64-linux 0x00005843b000-0x00005843e000 /opt/rh/devtoolset-7/root/usr/lib64/valgrind/memcheck-amd64-linux 0x00005843e000-0x000059e40000 0x001002001000-0x001008b0a000 0x001008b8c000-0x001008bac000 0x001008bac000-0x001008bae000 0x001008bae000-0x001008cae000 0x001008cae000-0x001008cb0000 0x001008cb0000-0x001008cb1000 /tmp/vgdb-pipe-shared-mem-vgdb-25564-by-aarna-on-localhost.localdomain 0x001008cb1000-0x00100b0fd000 0x00100b1fd000-0x00100b3fd000 0x00100b4fd000-0x00100b5fd000 0x00100b7f2000-0x00100ba1b000 0x00100bbdb000-0x00100bcdb000 0x001ffeffd000-0x001fff001000 0x7ffd1941d000-0x7ffd1943e000 [stack] 0xffffffffff600000-0xffffffffff601000 [vsyscall] ==25564==End of process memory map. ==25564== ==25564== HEAP SUMMARY: ==25564== in use at exit: 32 bytes in 1 blocks ==25564== total heap usage: 1 allocs, 0 frees, 32 bytes allocated ==25564== ==25564== 32 bytes in 1 blocks are still reachable in loss record 1 of 1 ==25564== at 0x4C2B955: calloc (vg_replace_malloc.c:711) ==25564== by 0x586454F: _dlerror_run (dlerror.c:141) ==25564== by 0x5864057: dlsym (dlsym.c:70) ==25564== by 0x50233B: __interception::GetRealFunctionAddress(char const*, unsigned long*, unsigned long, unsigned long) (in /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs) ==25564== by 0x4DD462: __asan::InitializeAsanInterceptors() (in /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs) ==25564== by 0x41A49F: __asan::AsanInitInternal() [clone .part.1] (in /home/aarna/devel/practice/smart_ptrs) ==25564== by 0x400FCA2: _dl_init (dl-init.c:116) ==25564== by 0x4001029: ??? (in /usr/lib64/ld-2.17.so) ==25564== ==25564== LEAK SUMMARY: ==25564== definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks ==25564== indirectly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks ==25564== possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks ==25564== still reachable: 32 bytes in 1 blocks ==25564== suppressed: 0 bytes in 0 blocks ==25564== ==25564== For counts of detected and suppressed errors, rerun with: -v ==25564== ERROR SUMMARY: 0 errors from 0 contexts (suppressed: 0 from 0)
The explanation:
The output by valgrind shows entire picture of virtual memory and how source files and code is laid out in the memory. It detects the loss of 32 bytes of heap memory still in use at the exit.
The fix:
The output shown by the google address sanitizer was useful at micro-level. It precisely pointed the line number and I was able to apply my first fix to the memory leak in virtual destructor as follows:
virtual ~MySharedPtr(){
if(*c_ptr > 0){
(*c_ptr)--;
}
if(*c_ptr == 0){
if(resource_ptr != nullptr){
delete resource_ptr;
resource_ptr = nullptr;
}
delete c_ptr;
c_ptr = nullptr;
}
}
I still have following leaks:
================================================================= ==9130==ERROR: LeakSanitizer: detected memory leaks Direct leak of 4 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from: #0 0x1026a53d0 in wrap__Znwm (libasan.5.dylib:x86_64+0x6e3d0) #1 0x102324526 in MySharedPtr<int>::MySharedPtr(int) shared_ptr.cpp:9 #2 0x10232428a in main shared_ptr.cpp:68 #3 0x7fff7661b014 in start (libdyld.dylib:x86_64+0x1014) Direct leak of 4 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from: #0 0x1026a53d0 in wrap__Znwm (libasan.5.dylib:x86_64+0x6e3d0) #1 0x1023244a4 in MySharedPtr<int>::MySharedPtr(int) shared_ptr.cpp:8 #2 0x10232428a in main shared_ptr.cpp:68 #3 0x7fff7661b014 in start (libdyld.dylib:x86_64+0x1014) SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: 8 byte(s) leaked in 2 allocation(s).
Going through the code I fixed my copy assignment operator by deleting the resource pointer and the counter pointer as follows:
MySharedPtr<T>& operator=(const MySharedPtr<T> & ptr){
std::cout << "copy assignment operator\n";
if(this != &ptr){
delete resource_ptr; // deleting fix 1
delete c_ptr; // deleting fix 2
(*ptr.c_ptr)++;
this->c_ptr = ptr.c_ptr;
this->resource_ptr = ptr.resource_ptr;
}
return *this;
}
And my code generated error free output:
copy assignment operator use count is 2 copy assignment operator use count is 1
Supercharged Computing 