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S
saariko
Inspiring
November 24, 2011
Answered

iOS app crashes on return from cameraUI - a memory allocation problem?

  • November 24, 2011
  • 25 replies
  • 22772 views

hey all

trying to finish my first app

when running on iOS, the app SOMETIMES crashes after returning from cameraUI (either "use"/MediaEvent.COMPLETE or "cancel"/Event.CANCEL).

when i exit some other running apps on my iPhone 3Gs (and not that many are open), the problem goes away, which makes me think this is some memory allocation problem

in that aspect, can i trust the iOS to exit inactive applications to allocate more memory for my, currently active, AIR app?

(there is no memory leak)

this is an iPhone 3Gs running os version 4.3.5

the app was made with Flash Pro 5.5 overlayed with the AIR 3.1 sdk, and deployed using the "deploy for app store" type (which should be the most bug-free)

(no crashes on Android or desktop versions)

anyone had this cameraUI problem or a similar one where an app crashes if more then some numbers of apps are open?

thanx

Saar

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer sanika Kulshreshtha

    Hi,

    Thanks for reporting the bug. This issue is known to us and it is currently under investigation. As far as I know, there is no workaround.

    Regards,

    Sanika

    25 replies

    Show previous replies
    A
    Anonymous
    February 21, 2012

    For those of you having a problem, are you running with an embedded AIR runtime, or separate download?

    Here is what I am seeing (I am running with embedded).

    On my stock vanilla 3GS, which has never had any apps installed, I can never reproduce the behavior.  It works flawlessly, no matter how many pictures I have taken (I have tried 20 or so).

    On a friend's 3GS, he had the problem initially, but after closing a few apps everything worked just fine.

    4S seems to have much more persistent problems, but I am still checking that.

    J
    joeboy_uk
    Inspiring
    February 15, 2012

    perhaps I should have gone into more detail. Of course everyone here works for software companies but i would think most of you work for companies that create software for the end user using flex and flash. The company I work for is more like adobe in that it provides a software tool for users to create content with, rather than creating software that is the content itself if that makes sense.

    It may be a basic feature, but it's not a priority as a feature over others. Like I said, the majority of apps do not use the camera. So it gets placed lower down the pecking order. That's understandable. I don't think it demonstrates a lack of care to the community, it's just about getting your features prioritized and it would seem that this one is less of a priority than others.

    I want it fixed too because I have an app that requires it that I can't finsih yet, but I'm just saying I have sympathy with them and not being able to communicate a release. Mostly the people who have time to post on here aren't the people who have the full control of that release so it's difficult for them to answer the question.

    J
    jalsed
    Participating Frequently
    February 14, 2012

    We've tested both on iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S. Same result, only it happens quicker on the 3S indicating some memory problem. On the 4S I could sometimes take 4-5 pictures before it crashes the whole app. And it doesn't seem to matter if I take them quickly or wait between each.

    L
    LogicOnTap
    Participating Frequently
    February 14, 2012

    That's odd. For me the problem is much worse on the 4s. It's  1 fail in 6-10 attempts on the 4s and  1 in 10-20 on the 3gs.

    I actually haven't seen the issue on a Droid X but I will test it thoroughly tonight.

    J
    JasonKlotz
    Participant
    February 14, 2012

    Are there any settings we can use for the camera to minimize memory usage? 
    Does the camera resolution affect things? 
    Does the orientation change of the phone affect anything?

    Is there any manual garbage collection that can be done to deal with the memory leak?

    Are there any recommendations for native extensions to move forward?

    Is there an ETA on the release of this fix?

    p.s. We have an app that is on hold based on this issue.

    A
    Andy_____
    Participating Frequently
    February 14, 2012

    I think its fair to postulate that the majority of people posting here work for software companies Joe... who'd be bothering to post on forums if it was just for personal kicks! Not me thats for damn sure. Flex is a money-making tool for us pure and simple, and one that has a simple equation attached: if we can continue to turn it into dollars, we will continue to use it, if not, we wont. Simple as. And whats more, the ability to access the camera is one of the principal reasons for using a mobile device - for our purposes anyway.

    A
    Andy_____
    Participating Frequently
    February 14, 2012

    and by the way, Adobe, if youre listening... Id much rather you say "We dont actually know when it will be released" rather than keeping silent. I think thats all that everyone wants to know, so that we can factor in alternative methodologies for project completion.

    I
    IOSFLEXDEV
    Participant
    February 14, 2012

    I fully join Andy and Sean on this. I am , surpise surprise, in the software developement  as well and since a while ... and tend to provide to my customers solutions (not promises) and as far as possible  on a time to market basis. In my case, the camera was also a concrete requirement since the beginning.

    ...and... of course... the preliminary technical feasibility have been done before promising anything to the end users ;-)  (I tend to think that most of us does like this)

    What was the solution ? Well... put Flasbuilder aside, reuse the server infrastructure, and develop the Client with XCode. (that´s the difference between waiting and acting)

    What is the difference and consequence today? The customer is now testing the solution since some weeks already... and it works,

    As also already pointed out many times now, we are not talking about a nice to have feature but a basic and trivial one. And if no answers are coming, it is I think more than legitimate to ask ourselve the questions if there is

    really an interest in pushing this platform.

    J
    joeboy_uk
    Inspiring
    February 14, 2012

    I have some sympathy with adobe. I work for a software company and people ask me questions like this about when something will be released and I just can't tell them for sure. You don't want to over promise something and not deliver so you just remain silent until you know for sure. Im sure it's not that they don't care but a cameraUI support is not a priority over some other features, I mean what percentage of apps even use the camera, the majority of apps use other features more often so it's about making certain features a priority over others. You can never do everything so you have to pick what gets in what release.

    S
    shanlyticketsolve
    Inspiring
    February 14, 2012

    I am guessing it is pretty safe to say we all work for software companies - or a a minimum create software that has customers / users. Mine sells ticketing solutions and if we ignored users the way this is been ignored we would deserve the anger and negativity that this lack of response is getting. The main reason I know this is from the scars we have from doing this in the past. We now strive to give quick and clear communication. If we are unsure we say so and give some indication of when we expect to be able to address an issue. If this changes we update users accordingly - what we don't do is leave them ignored.

    The other aspect that this does not address is that we are talking about a basic feature you would expect from a mobile platform. This would be like us ignoring the fact that we had a basic problem with printing tickets and expecting some sympathy. What I would expect is that we would lose customers - which is what is starting to happen here.

    Sean

    A
    Andy_____
    Participating Frequently
    February 14, 2012

    Agreed. Come on Adobe, please pull your finger out.. before you lose more developers. Surely thats not what you want?

    In January we were told it was fixed in internal builds, and would be in the next release of AIR. We just want to know how long we can expect to wait for that release. Are we talking Days, Weeks or Months, approximately?

    >>"I have an update for you. We have fixed the issue in our internal builds and it should make it to the next release of AIR.

    >>Sanika"

    A
    Anonymous
    February 11, 2012

    Hello Adobe,

    I'm experiencing this issue as well. Will you please post an update...

    R
    richtretola
    Participant
    February 13, 2012

    I have tested with the AIR 3.2 prerelease and my app still crashes when taking a picture with CameraUI on an original Verizon Droid. I don't see the issue on any other Android devices nor do I see this issue when browsing the CameraRoll. It only occurs when using the Camera.

    S
    shanlyticketsolve
    Inspiring
    February 13, 2012

    Guys - this issue is been ignored - does anyone have any suggestions on where else you can turn to get an answer?

    Who are the Adobe Air Evangelists? I am going to see what I can find by searching for Adobe blogs and looking for an answer there.

    Sean

      S
      shanlyticketsolve
      Inspiring
      February 10, 2012

      Jesper,

      Re JPEG encoding I prototyped an ANE - http://forums.adobe.com/message/4090166#4090166 to give fast encoding - might help if fast encoding a Camera image is what you are referring to above.

      Just to add to the call here can someone from ADOBE please give an update on this? It's not an unreasonable question been asked over and over again?

      Sean

      J
      jalsed
      Participating Frequently
      February 10, 2012

      It was, thanks for the reply.

      And yes, I was posting this in hope Adobe would wake up and give us an update!

      /Jesper

      J
      joeboy_uk
      Inspiring
      February 11, 2012

      im only getting crashes when i have more than 10 images in the camera roll. I can import up to 10 images in CPU mode with no problem. Is that the same with other users?

      J
      jalsed
      Participating Frequently
      February 10, 2012

      We're also experiencing this problem. In fact, our iOS project is almost ready but this is a complete showstopper delaying the release.

      Overall, we're happy with the opportunities the air/mobile gives, but basic camera/sound (including some mp3 and jpeg encoding/decoding) funcionalities are crucial to us (and others I gather!).

      Is there a bugbase/issue number for this case? I can't see it mentioned anywhere.

      /Jesper

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