matplotlib-users

[Matplotlib-users] Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[OCuanachain, O. (Oisin) <Ois...@ls...>]

Hi,

I am having problems with a script. It runs a number of iterations and plots and saves a number of plots on each iteration. After the plots have been saved I issue the pyplot.close('all') command so despite many plots being created only 4 should be open at any given time which should not cause any memory problems. When I run the script however I see the RAM usage gradually growing without bound and eventually causing the script to crash. Interestingly I have found if I comment out the pyplot.ion()  and pyplot.ioff() the problem vanishes. So I do have a workaround but it would still be good to have this fixed in case I forget about it in future and loose another weekend's work.

My OS is Windows XP Service Pack 3
Python 2.6
Matplotlib 1.0.1

The code below is a stripped down version of my script which still exhibits the problem.

Oisín.

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

import sys
import time
import numpy as np
from matplotlib import pyplot
import os

  # Main script body
try:

  for gain in range(1,20,2):

      for PortToTest in range(8):

        dirname = '.\crash'
        f = open(dirname + '\\results.m','w')

        runname = '\P' + str(PortToTest) + str(gain) + \
                  '_' + time.strftime('d%dh%Hm%Ms%S')

        dirname = dirname + runname
        os.mkdir(dirname)
        os.system('copy ' + sys.argv[0] + ' ' + dirname )

        nIts     = 50
        # Decimate  data for plotting if many iterations are run
        if(nIts>10):
          echoPlotDec = 10
        else:
          echoPlotDec = 1
        ResidN   = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
        MaxSl    = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
        MaxOld   = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
        MaxNew   = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
        EchoA    = np.zeros((2*nIts,160))

        for kk in range(2*nIts):

            ResidN[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            ResidN[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            ResidN[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            ResidN[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)

            MaxSl[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxSl[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxSl[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxSl[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)

            MaxOld[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxOld[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxOld[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxOld[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)

            MaxNew[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxNew[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxNew[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxNew[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)

            EchoA[kk,:] = np.random.rand(1,160)

        f.close()

        pyplot.ion()

        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.hold(True)

        LegendTexts = ("A","B","C","D")

        pyplot.title("R (" + runname +")")
        pyplot.xlabel("Index")
        pyplot.ylabel("Noise (dB)")
        pyplot.grid(True)
        pyplot.hold(True)
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(ResidN),'.-')
        pyplot.legend(LegendTexts,loc=1)
        pyplot.axis([0, 2*nIts, -33, -25])
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\results.emf',format='emf')

        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.hold(True)

        pyplot.title("Coefs")
        pyplot.xlabel("Coef Index")
        pyplot.ylabel("Coef Value")
        pyplot.grid(True)
        pyplot.hold(True)
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(EchoA[0:nIts-1:echoPlotDec,:]),'.-')
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(EchoA[nIts:2*nIts-1:echoPlotDec,:]),'*-')
        pyplot.axis([0, 160, -0.5, 2])
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\CoefsA.emf',format='emf')

        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.hold(True)

        pyplot.title("MaxAbs, Old = '.', New = '*' ")
        pyplot.xlabel("Iteration")
        pyplot.ylabel("o/p (LSBs)")
        pyplot.grid(True)
        pyplot.hold(True)
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxOld),'.-')
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxNew),'*-')
        pyplot.axis([0, 2*nIts, 32, 128])
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\MaxAbsA.emf',format='emf')

        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.hold(True)

        pyplot.title("MaxAbs")
        pyplot.xlabel("Iteration")
        pyplot.ylabel("(LSBs)")
        pyplot.grid(True)
        pyplot.hold(True)
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxSl),'.-')
        pyplot.axis([0, 2*nIts, 0, 64])
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\MaxAbsSl.emf',format='emf')

        pyplot.close('all')

except RuntimeError, msg:
  print 'Exception occurred in main script body'
  print >>sys.stderr, msg
  raise
finally:
  print "Test done"
  # Display plots
  pyplot.ioff()

[Matplotlib-users] Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[OCuanachain, O. (Oisin) <Ois...@ls...>]

Hi,

I am having problems with a script. It runs a number of iterations and plots and saves a number of plots on each iteration. After the plots have been saved I issue the pyplot.close('all') command so despite many plots being created only 4 should be open at any given time which should not cause any memory problems. When I run the script however I see the RAM usage gradually growing without bound and eventually causing the script to crash. Interestingly I have found if I comment out the pyplot.ion()  and pyplot.ioff() the problem vanishes. So I do have a workaround but it would still be good to have this fixed.

My OS is Windows XP Service Pack 3
Python 2.6
Matplotlib 1.3.1

The code below is a stripped down version of my script which still exhibits the problem. Interestingly if I set the number of iterations such that it won't run out of memory before the script completes then one final call to pyplot.close('all') will release all the memory. It almost looks like there is some sort of 'race condition' between the close('all') at the end of  one iteration and the plot commands in the next iteration which create new figures. In the taskbar Windows shows the number of windows associated with each application => while this script runs I expect to see between 1 and 5 windows (interpreter + 1->4 figures), however as the script progresses and the memory usage grows Windows lists a growing number of windows associated with Python (multiple instances of figure1/2/3/4).

Oisín.

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import sys
import time
import numpy as np
from matplotlib import pyplot
import os
  # Main script body
try:
  for gain in range(1,20,2):
      for PortToTest in range(8):
        dirname = '.\crash'
        runname = '\P' + str(PortToTest) + str(gain) + \
                  '_' + time.strftime('d%dh%Hm%Ms%S')
        dirname = dirname + runname
        os.mkdir(dirname)
        os.system('copy ' + sys.argv[0] + ' ' + dirname )
        nIts        = 50
        echoPlotDec = 10
        ResidN = np.random.rand(4,100)
        MaxSl  = np.random.rand(4,100)
        MaxOld = np.random.rand(4,100)
        MaxNew = np.random.rand(4,100)
        EchoA  = np.random.rand(100,160)
        pyplot.ion()
        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(ResidN),'.-')
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\results.png',format='png')
        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(EchoA[0:nIts-1:echoPlotDec,:]),'.-')
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(EchoA[nIts:2*nIts-1:echoPlotDec,:]),'*-')
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\CoefsA.png',format='png')
        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxOld),'.-')
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxNew),'*-')
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\MaxAbsA.png',format='png')
        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxSl),'.-')
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\MaxAbsSl.png',format='png')
        pyplot.close('all')
except RuntimeError, msg:
  print 'Exception occurred in main script body'
  print >>sys.stderr, msg
  raise
finally:
  print "Test done"
  # Display plots
  pyplot.ioff()

Re: [Matplotlib-users] Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[Michael D. <md...@st...>]

I haven't had a chance to look into where the memory is actually 
leaking, ion/ioff are intended for interactive use, and here you are 
saving a large number of plots to files.  Why do you need ion at all?

Mike

On 10/14/2013 08:51 AM, OCuanachain, Oisin (Oisin) wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I am having problems with a script. It runs a number of iterations and 
> plots and saves a number of plots on each iteration. After the plots 
> have been saved I issue the pyplot.close('all') command so despite 
> many plots being created only 4 should be open at any given time which 
> should not cause any memory problems. When I run the script however I 
> see the RAM usage gradually growing without bound and eventually 
> causing the script to crash. Interestingly I have found if I comment 
> out the pyplot.ion()  and pyplot.ioff() the problem vanishes. So I do 
> have a workaround but it would still be good to have this fixed in 
> case I forget about it in future and loose another weekend's work.
>
> My OS is Windows XP Service Pack 3
>
> Python 2.6
>
> Matplotlib 1.0.1
>
> The code below is a stripped down version of my script which still 
> exhibits the problem.
>
> Oisín.
>
> # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
>
> import sys
>
> import time
>
> import numpy as np
>
> from matplotlib import pyplot
>
> import os
>
>   # Main script body
>
> try:
>
>   for gain in range(1,20,2):
>
>       for PortToTest in range(8):
>
>         dirname = '.\crash'
>
>         f = open(dirname + '\\results.m','w')
>
>         runname = '\P' + str(PortToTest) + str(gain) + \
>
>                   '_' + time.strftime('d%dh%Hm%Ms%S')
>
>         dirname = dirname + runname
>
>         os.mkdir(dirname)
>
>         os.system('copy ' + sys.argv[0] + ' ' + dirname )
>
>         nIts     = 50
>
>         # Decimate  data for plotting if many iterations are run
>
>         if(nIts>10):
>
>           echoPlotDec = 10
>
>         else:
>
>           echoPlotDec = 1
>
>         ResidN   = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
>
>         MaxSl    = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
>
>         MaxOld   = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
>
>         MaxNew   = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
>
>         EchoA    = np.zeros((2*nIts,160))
>
>         for kk in range(2*nIts):
>
>             ResidN[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             ResidN[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             ResidN[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             ResidN[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxSl[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxSl[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxSl[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxSl[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxOld[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxOld[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxOld[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxOld[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxNew[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxNew[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxNew[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             MaxNew[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
>
>             EchoA[kk,:] = np.random.rand(1,160)
>
>         f.close()
>
>         pyplot.ion()
>
>         pyplot.figure()
>
>         pyplot.hold(True)
>
>         LegendTexts = ("A","B","C","D")
>
>         pyplot.title("R (" + runname +")")
>
> pyplot.xlabel("Index")
>
> pyplot.ylabel("Noise (dB)")
>
>         pyplot.grid(True)
>
>         pyplot.hold(True)
>
> pyplot.plot(np.transpose(ResidN),'.-')
>
> pyplot.legend(LegendTexts,loc=1)
>
>         pyplot.axis([0, 2*nIts, -33, -25])
>
> pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\results.emf',format='emf')
>
>         pyplot.figure()
>
>         pyplot.hold(True)
>
>         pyplot.title("Coefs")
>
> pyplot.xlabel("Coef Index")
>
> pyplot.ylabel("Coef Value")
>
>         pyplot.grid(True)
>
>         pyplot.hold(True)
>
> pyplot.plot(np.transpose(EchoA[0:nIts-1:echoPlotDec,:]),'.-')
>
> pyplot.plot(np.transpose(EchoA[nIts:2*nIts-1:echoPlotDec,:]),'*-')
>
>         pyplot.axis([0, 160, -0.5, 2])
>
> pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\CoefsA.emf',format='emf')
>
>         pyplot.figure()
>
>         pyplot.hold(True)
>
>         pyplot.title("MaxAbs, Old = '.', New = '*' ")
>
> pyplot.xlabel("Iteration")
>
> pyplot.ylabel("o/p (LSBs)")
>
>         pyplot.grid(True)
>
>         pyplot.hold(True)
>
> pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxOld),'.-')
>
> pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxNew),'*-')
>
>         pyplot.axis([0, 2*nIts, 32, 128])
>
> pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\MaxAbsA.emf',format='emf')
>
>         pyplot.figure()
>
>         pyplot.hold(True)
>
>         pyplot.title("MaxAbs")
>
> pyplot.xlabel("Iteration")
>
> pyplot.ylabel("(LSBs)")
>
>         pyplot.grid(True)
>
>         pyplot.hold(True)
>
> pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxSl),'.-')
>
>         pyplot.axis([0, 2*nIts, 0, 64])
>
> pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\MaxAbsSl.emf',format='emf')
>
>         pyplot.close('all')
>
> except RuntimeError, msg:
>
>   print 'Exception occurred in main script body'
>
>   print >>sys.stderr, msg
>
>   raise
>
> finally:
>
>   print "Test done"
>
>   # Display plots
>
>   pyplot.ioff()
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> October Webinars: Code for Performance
> Free Intel webinars can help you accelerate application performance.
> Explore tips for MPI, OpenMP, advanced profiling, and more. Get the most from
> the latest Intel processors and coprocessors. See abstracts and register >
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=60134071&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Matplotlib-users mailing list
> Mat...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-users


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|\/|o _|_  _. _ | | \.__  __|__|_|_  _  _ ._ _
|  ||(_| |(_|(/_| |_/|(_)(/_|_ |_|_)(_)(_)| | |

http://www.droettboom.com

[Matplotlib-users] Maidir le: Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[OCuanachain, O. (Oisin) <Ois...@ls...>]

Hi Mike,

ion(), ioff() are useful to get immediate feedback when developing a script, when it is fully debugged I then increase the number of iterations and leave it running over the weekend. At that point I could obviously also have removed ion(), ioff() but given that I had no idea that this was necessary my sim crashed and I lost a weekend's worth of sim time. Anyway, whether or not ion(),ioff() are needed in this particular script is really besides the point. If the script, however unusual, is revealing a bug in matplotlib it should be logged so that it can hopefully be fixed.

Oisín

From: Michael Droettboom [mailto:md...@st...]
Sent: 14 October 2013 18:13
To: mat...@li...
Subject: Re: [Matplotlib-users] Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

I haven't had a chance to look into where the memory is actually leaking, ion/ioff are intended for interactive use, and here you are saving a large number of plots to files.  Why do you need ion at all?

Mike

On 10/14/2013 08:51 AM, OCuanachain, Oisin (Oisin) wrote:
Hi,

I am having problems with a script. It runs a number of iterations and plots and saves a number of plots on each iteration. After the plots have been saved I issue the pyplot.close('all') command so despite many plots being created only 4 should be open at any given time which should not cause any memory problems. When I run the script however I see the RAM usage gradually growing without bound and eventually causing the script to crash. Interestingly I have found if I comment out the pyplot.ion()  and pyplot.ioff() the problem vanishes. So I do have a workaround but it would still be good to have this fixed in case I forget about it in future and loose another weekend's work.

My OS is Windows XP Service Pack 3
Python 2.6
Matplotlib 1.0.1

The code below is a stripped down version of my script which still exhibits the problem.

Oisín.

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

import sys
import time
import numpy as np
from matplotlib import pyplot
import os

  # Main script body
try:

  for gain in range(1,20,2):

      for PortToTest in range(8):

        dirname = '.\crash'
        f = open(dirname + '\\results.m','w')

        runname = '\P' + str(PortToTest) + str(gain) + \
                  '_' + time.strftime('d%dh%Hm%Ms%S')

        dirname = dirname + runname
        os.mkdir(dirname)
        os.system('copy ' + sys.argv[0] + ' ' + dirname )

        nIts     = 50
        # Decimate  data for plotting if many iterations are run
        if(nIts>10):
          echoPlotDec = 10
        else:
          echoPlotDec = 1
        ResidN   = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
        MaxSl    = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
        MaxOld   = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
        MaxNew   = np.zeros((4,2*nIts))
        EchoA    = np.zeros((2*nIts,160))

        for kk in range(2*nIts):

            ResidN[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            ResidN[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            ResidN[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            ResidN[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)

            MaxSl[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxSl[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxSl[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxSl[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)

            MaxOld[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxOld[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxOld[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxOld[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)

            MaxNew[0,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxNew[1,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxNew[2,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)
            MaxNew[3,kk] = np.random.rand(1,1)

            EchoA[kk,:] = np.random.rand(1,160)

        f.close()

        pyplot.ion()

        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.hold(True)

        LegendTexts = ("A","B","C","D")

        pyplot.title("R (" + runname +")")
        pyplot.xlabel("Index")
        pyplot.ylabel("Noise (dB)")
        pyplot.grid(True)
        pyplot.hold(True)
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(ResidN),'.-')
        pyplot.legend(LegendTexts,loc=1)
        pyplot.axis([0, 2*nIts, -33, -25])
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\results.emf',format='emf')

        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.hold(True)

        pyplot.title("Coefs")
        pyplot.xlabel("Coef Index")
        pyplot.ylabel("Coef Value")
        pyplot.grid(True)
        pyplot.hold(True)
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(EchoA[0:nIts-1:echoPlotDec,:]),'.-')
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(EchoA[nIts:2*nIts-1:echoPlotDec,:]),'*-')
        pyplot.axis([0, 160, -0.5, 2])
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\CoefsA.emf',format='emf')

        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.hold(True)

        pyplot.title("MaxAbs, Old = '.', New = '*' ")
        pyplot.xlabel("Iteration")
        pyplot.ylabel("o/p (LSBs)")
        pyplot.grid(True)
        pyplot.hold(True)
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxOld),'.-')
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxNew),'*-')
        pyplot.axis([0, 2*nIts, 32, 128])
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\MaxAbsA.emf',format='emf')

        pyplot.figure()
        pyplot.hold(True)

        pyplot.title("MaxAbs")
        pyplot.xlabel("Iteration")
        pyplot.ylabel("(LSBs)")
        pyplot.grid(True)
        pyplot.hold(True)
        pyplot.plot(np.transpose(MaxSl),'.-')
        pyplot.axis([0, 2*nIts, 0, 64])
        pyplot.savefig(dirname + '\\MaxAbsSl.emf',format='emf')

        pyplot.close('all')

except RuntimeError, msg:
  print 'Exception occurred in main script body'
  print >>sys.stderr, msg
  raise
finally:
  print "Test done"
  # Display plots
  pyplot.ioff()






------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October Webinars: Code for Performance

Free Intel webinars can help you accelerate application performance.

Explore tips for MPI, OpenMP, advanced profiling, and more. Get the most from

the latest Intel processors and coprocessors. See abstracts and register >

http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=60134071&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk




_______________________________________________

Matplotlib-users mailing list

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https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-users




--

                   _

|\/|o _|_  _. _ | | \.__  __|__|_|_  _  _ ._ _

|  ||(_| |(_|(/_| |_/|(_)(/_|_ |_|_)(_)(_)| | |



http://www.droettboom.com

Re: [Matplotlib-users] Maidir le: Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[Benjamin R. <ben...@ou...>]

I see you are using matplotlib 1.0.1. There have been several memory leak
bugs fixed since then, so I would suggest upgrading. I also notice you are
using the "emf" backend for saving figures. If I remember correctly, that
backend has been deprecated (or maybe even removed) in the latest release
(v1.3.x).  So, i would suggest trying v1.2.1. It does contain many bugfixes
and should still be compatible with your existing code.

I should also warn that the behavior with pyplot.ion() was "odd" back in
the 1.0.1 days and prior. If you are just simply running the script as-is
with a more recent matplotlib, or with a different backend in v1.0.1, the
script might behave a little differently than you'd expect. We would
welcome feedback on your usage of pyplot.ion().

Cheers!
Ben Root

Re: [Matplotlib-users] Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[Mark L. <bre...@ya...>]

On 14/10/2013 13:51, OCuanachain, Oisin (Oisin) wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am having problems with a script. It runs a number of iterations and
> plots and saves a number of plots on each iteration. After the plots
> have been saved I issue the pyplot.close(‘all’) command so despite many
> plots being created only 4 should be open at any given time which should
> not cause any memory problems. When I run the script however I see the
> RAM usage gradually growing without bound and eventually causing the
> script to crash. Interestingly I have found if I comment out the
> pyplot.ion()  and pyplot.ioff() the problem vanishes. So I do have a
> workaround but it would still be good to have this fixed in case I
> forget about it in future and loose another weekend’s work.
>
> My OS is Windows XP Service Pack 3
> Python 2.6
> Matplotlib 1.0.1
>

Is this actually a matplotlib problem or could it be a Windows problem 
as discussed here http://bugs.python.org/issue19246 ?

-- 
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Most poems rhyme,
But this one doesn't.

Mark Lawrence

Re: [Matplotlib-users] Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[Goyo <goy...@gm...>]

2013/10/14 Mark Lawrence <bre...@ya...>:
> On 14/10/2013 13:51, OCuanachain, Oisin (Oisin) wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I am having problems with a script. It runs a number of iterations and
>> plots and saves a number of plots on each iteration. After the plots
>> have been saved I issue the pyplot.close(‘all’) command so despite many
>> plots being created only 4 should be open at any given time which should
>> not cause any memory problems. When I run the script however I see the
>> RAM usage gradually growing without bound and eventually causing the
>> script to crash. Interestingly I have found if I comment out the
>> pyplot.ion()  and pyplot.ioff() the problem vanishes. So I do have a
>> workaround but it would still be good to have this fixed in case I
>> forget about it in future and loose another weekend’s work.
>>
>> My OS is Windows XP Service Pack 3
>> Python 2.6
>> Matplotlib 1.0.1
>>
>
> Is this actually a matplotlib problem or could it be a Windows problem
> as discussed here http://bugs.python.org/issue19246 ?

I think this is different. That bug report is not about RAM usage
growing without bound but memory allocation failing with plenty of RAM
available.

Goyo

Re: [Matplotlib-users] Maidir le: Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[Eric F. <ef...@ha...>]

On 2013/10/14 7:48 AM, OCuanachain, Oisin (Oisin) wrote:
> Hi Mike,
>
> ion(), ioff() are useful to get immediate feedback when developing a
> script, when it is fully debugged I then increase the number of
> iterations and leave it running over the weekend. At that point I could
> obviously also have removed ion(), ioff() but given that I had no idea
> that this was necessary my sim crashed and I lost a weekend’s worth of
> sim time. Anyway, whether or not ion(),ioff() are needed in this
> particular script is really besides the point. If the script, however
> unusual, is revealing a bug in matplotlib it should be logged so that it
> can hopefully be fixed.
>
> Oisín

Oisín,

Certainly we want to find and fix bugs, with memory leaks being high 
priority. (I don't think we have seen a genuine mpl memory leak for 
quite a while; I am not aware of any at present.) We are not trying to 
maintain old mpl versions such as 1.0.1, however.  You are using the emf 
backend, which has been removed.  Therefore, unless you can reproduce 
the problem with mpl 1.3.x or 1.4.x in a SSCCE (http://sscce.org/), it 
is unlikely that your report will lead to a bug fix.  Perhaps it will 
lead to some useful insight, however.

I see someone has suggested that the problem might be in Windows. 
Another possibility is that it is in TkAgg, which I suspect is your 
default interactive backend.  I dimly recall that there was a time when 
TkAgg could leak memory, but I don't remember whether that was fixed by 
1.0.1 or not.

Eric

[Matplotlib-users] Maidir le: Maidir le: Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[OCuanachain, O. (Oisin) <Ois...@ls...>]

-----Bunteachtaireacht-----
From: Eric Firing [mailto:ef...@ha...] 
Sent: 14 October 2013 19:09
To: mat...@li...
Subject: Re: [Matplotlib-users] Maidir le: Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

On 2013/10/14 7:48 AM, OCuanachain, Oisin (Oisin) wrote:
> Hi Mike,
>
> ion(), ioff() are useful to get immediate feedback when developing a 
> script, when it is fully debugged I then increase the number of 
> iterations and leave it running over the weekend. At that point I 
> could obviously also have removed ion(), ioff() but given that I had 
> no idea that this was necessary my sim crashed and I lost a weekend's 
> worth of sim time. Anyway, whether or not ion(),ioff() are needed in 
> this particular script is really besides the point. If the script, 
> however unusual, is revealing a bug in matplotlib it should be logged 
> so that it can hopefully be fixed.
>
> Oisín

Oisín,

Certainly we want to find and fix bugs, with memory leaks being high priority. (I don't think we have seen a genuine mpl memory leak for quite a while; I am not aware of any at present.) We are not trying to maintain old mpl versions such as 1.0.1, however.  You are using the emf backend, which has been removed.  Therefore, unless you can reproduce the problem with mpl 1.3.x or 1.4.x in a SSCCE (http://sscce.org/), it is unlikely that your report will lead to a bug fix.  Perhaps it will lead to some useful insight, however.

I see someone has suggested that the problem might be in Windows. 
Another possibility is that it is in TkAgg, which I suspect is your default interactive backend.  I dimly recall that there was a time when TkAgg could leak memory, but I don't remember whether that was fixed by
1.0.1 or not.

Eric


Hi Eric, 

If .emf is no longer supported in current versions of matplotlib is there an alternative SVG-type format I can use ? I use .emf because I find that it tends to produce the clearest plots independent of how I re-size them when imported into documents. If memory serves I used to have a lot of problems with legibility when using raster-type formats like .png. If I get a chance I will try installing an up-to-date version of matplotlib and see if I can re-produce the behaviour. 

Oisin. 

Re: [Matplotlib-users] Maidir le: Maidir le: Memory leak when using pyplot.ion() ?

[Eric F. <ef...@ha...>]

On 2013/10/14 8:26 AM, OCuanachain, Oisin (Oisin) wrote:
>

>
> Hi Eric,
>
> If .emf is no longer supported in current versions of matplotlib is
> there an alternative SVG-type format I can use ? I use .emf because I
> find that it tends to produce the clearest plots independent of how I
> re-size them when imported into documents. If memory serves I used to
> have a lot of problems with legibility when using raster-type formats
> like .png. If I get a chance I will try installing an up-to-date
> version of matplotlib and see if I can re-produce the behaviour.
>
> Oisin.
>

Oisin,

The ps, pdf, and svg vector formats are fully supported.  (Postscript 
inherently lacks support for transparency, though, so pdf and svg are 
recommended.)

Eric