[asterisk-dev] [Code Review] 3377: ref count logs: Redo structure of log file, provide a python debugging tool

[Matt Jordan]

> On March 20, 2014, 4:12 a.m., Corey Farrell wrote:
> > We should remove utils/refcounter from all branches.  The format is changing, so the existing utils/refcounter will be unusable with 1.8.27.0 / 11.9.0 / 12.2.0.  I think providing utils/refcounter in those versions will only cause confusion.  Maybe we could enable installation of refcounter.py to ${ASTSBINDIR}/refcounter?

I disagree on removing refcounter, for the reasons Richard gave. Removing it is liable to result in more confusion, since its absence will be more noticeable than its presence.

I'm not sure about installing refcounter.py by default. You would only run it when things have gone wrong and you need extra debugging. That feels like something that should be in the scripts folder, and not always available.


- Matt


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On March 19, 2014, 1:22 p.m., Matt Jordan wrote:
> 
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> This is an automatically generated e-mail. To reply, visit:
> https://reviewboard.asterisk.org/r/3377/
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> 
> (Updated March 19, 2014, 1:22 p.m.)
> 
> 
> Review request for Asterisk Developers, Corey Farrell and wdoekes.
> 
> 
> Repository: Asterisk
> 
> 
> Description
> -------
> 
> Note: while an improvement to Asterisk, this patch only affects Asterisk when compiled in -dev-mode. Since it has benefit only for developers looking to fix bugs, I'm proposing it for Asterisk 1.8+. The removal of refcounter should be done in trunk only.
> 
> Asterisk uses reference counted objects. A lot. As their use has spread, the bugs related to reference counting errors has grown as well. Central to resolving reference counting issues is the usage of REF_DEBUG; unfortunately, REF_DEBUG has had several problems:
> (1) It could not be enabled through menuselect
> (2) When not enabled globally, updates to objects were often lost, resulting in insufficient data to resolve problems
> (3) The format of the ref debug log file was not suitable for parsing
> 
> This patch changes REF_DEBUG in the following ways:
> (1) It makes REF_DEBUG a meneselect item when Asterisk is compiled with --enable-dev-mode
> (2) The ref debug log file is now created in the AST_LOG_DIR directory. Every run will now blow away the previous run (as large ref files sometimes caused issues). We now also no longer open/close the file on each write, instead relying on fflush to make sure data gets written to the file (in case the ao2 call being performed is about to cause a crash)
> (3) It goes with a comma delineated format for the ref debug file. This makes parsing much easier.
> (4) It throws out the refcounter utility and goes with a python script instead.
> 
> 
> Diffs
> -----
> 
>   /branches/1.8/utils/refcounter.c 410891 
>   /branches/1.8/utils/Makefile 410891 
>   /branches/1.8/main/astobj2.c 410891 
>   /branches/1.8/contrib/scripts/refcounter.py PRE-CREATION 
>   /branches/1.8/build_tools/cflags-devmode.xml 410891 
> 
> Diff: https://reviewboard.asterisk.org/r/3377/diff/
> 
> 
> Testing
> -------
> 
> Things spit out ref logs and the script parses them. Example below:
> 
> ==== Object 0x21ed9b8 history ====
> features.c[5427]:create_parkinglot 1  - [**constructor**]
> features.c[5707]:build_parkinglot +1  - [1]
> features.c[5392]:parkinglot_unref -1  - [2]
> features.c[6358]:build_dialplan_useage_map +1  - [1]
> features.c[6358]:build_dialplan_useage_map -1  - [2]
> features.c[4985]:find_parkinglot +1  - [1]
> features.c[5392]:parkinglot_unref -1  - [2]
> features.c[6358]:build_dialplan_useage_map +1  - [1]
> features.c[6358]:build_dialplan_useage_map -1  - [2]
> features.c[4955]:do_parking_thread +1  - [1]
> features.c[4957]:do_parking_thread -1  - [2]
> astobj2.c[955]:cd_cb_debug -1 deref object via container destroy - [1]
> astobj2.c[955]:cd_cb_debug -1 deref object via container destroy - [**call destructor**]
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Matt Jordan
> 
>

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