Let’s Talk About Memory Leaks In Dart And Flutter
Since 2006, when I started working in software development, I have faced the problem of memory leaks, particularly when using languages like Dart. The integration of Streams and asynchronous programming as a default feature in Dart introduces a level of difficulty in addressing this matter.
Memory leaks can be annoying as they are hard to spot and recreate compared to syntax errors or logic bugs that usually show up in the development phase. When it comes to memory leaks in Flutter applications, it's getting even more complex with the addition layers of widgets and controllers combined with listeners over time which may result performance issues or unexpected crashes for users after prolonged use.
Unfortunately, identifying all memory leaks isn't always straightforward when it comes to analysis since memory usage can vary based on runtime behavior patterns; nevertheless, tools like DCM and its Rules
can sometimes help detect patterns that lead to memory leaks and prevent such issues.
In this article, we will explore Dart and Flutter memory leaks, how they occur, their significance in coding practices, solution to debug memory leaks and identify them such as DevTools and Leak Tracker and shifting left by relying on static analyzer tools such DCM and how they can prevent such leaks from sneaking into your code base.