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Android GridView garbage collecting (GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC) <1K overzealously, causing very choppy UI

Tags:

android

scroll

garbage-collection

gridview

I have been looking at this for a long time and finally decided to post - my 2xN GridView, which consists of cells with a single image and piece of text is very choppy a lot of times (but sometimes perfectly smooth). Upon examining logcat output, I see things like this once I start scrolling (there are only 12 items in the list):

10-25 17:28:40.420: D/dalvikvm(12159): GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC freed 6K, 47% free 3383K/6279K, external 2044K/2161K, paused 38ms
10-25 17:28:40.510: D/dalvikvm(12159): GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC freed <1K, 47% free 3383K/6279K, external 2044K/2161K, paused 36ms
10-25 17:28:40.600: D/dalvikvm(12159): GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC freed <1K, 47% free 3383K/6279K, external 2044K/2161K, paused 40ms
10-25 17:28:41.805: D/dalvikvm(12159): GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC freed 1K, 47% free 3383K/6279K, external 2044K/2161K, paused 34ms
10-25 17:28:41.840: D/dalvikvm(12159): GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC freed <1K, 47% free 3383K/6279K, external 2044K/2161K, paused 25ms
10-25 17:28:41.880: D/dalvikvm(12159): GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC freed <1K, 47% free 3383K/6279K, external 2044K/2161K, paused 25ms
10-25 17:28:41.910: D/dalvikvm(12159): GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC freed <1K, 47% free 3383K/6279K, external 2044K/2161K, paused 20ms
10-25 17:28:41.940: D/dalvikvm(12159): GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC freed <1K, 47% free 3383K/6279K, external 2044K/2161K, paused 18ms

This was only a single flick to the bottom of the list and back up. Very choppy. If I keep scrolling up and down, the GC keeps going for maybe 5-6 scrolls, then stops. But as soon as I press Menu which brings up a 2-entry menu or switch activities and come back, GC comes back too.

I turned off bitmap assignments for the image - same problem. My cells are essentially empty, yet GC still happens.

I contacted Romain Guy who said I should try allocation tracking. I ran tracking and flicked, but saw no allocation in my own code. I did see allocations followed by calls to com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher allocated in finalize, which matches the number of GC lines in logcat. Here is the whole Allocation Tracker dump (or as a picture which is easier to parse):

1   24  org.apache.harmony.dalvik.ddmc.Chunk    5   org.apache.harmony.dalvik.ddmc.DdmServer    dispatch    
2   12  java.lang.Integer   5   java.lang.Integer   valueOf 
3   24  byte[]  5   dalvik.system.NativeStart   run 
4   20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
5   20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
6   20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
7   20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
8   20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
9   20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
10  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
11  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
12  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
13  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
14  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
15  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
16  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
17  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
18  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
19  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
20  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
21  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
22  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
23  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
24  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
25  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
26  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
27  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
28  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
29  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
30  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
31  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
32  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
33  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
34  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
35  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
36  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
37  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
38  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
39  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
40  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
41  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
42  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
43  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
44  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
45  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
46  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
47  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
48  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
49  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
50  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
51  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
52  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
53  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
54  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
55  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
56  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
57  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
58  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
59  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
60  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
61  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
62  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
63  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
64  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
65  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
66  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
67  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
68  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
69  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
70  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
71  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
72  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
73  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
74  24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
75  36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
76  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
77  24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
78  36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
79  24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
80  36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
81  8   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
82  24  java.lang.ref.WeakReference 2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
83  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
84  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
85  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
86  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
87  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
88  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
89  24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
90  36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
91  24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
92  36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
93  20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
94  24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
95  36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
96  8   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
97  24  java.lang.ref.WeakReference 2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
98  24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
99  36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
100 20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
101 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
102 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
103 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
104 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
105 8   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
106 24  java.lang.ref.WeakReference 2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
107 20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
108 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
109 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
110 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
111 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
112 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
113 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
114 8   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
115 24  java.lang.ref.WeakReference 2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
116 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
117 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
118 20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
119 60  com.carrieriq.iqagent.client.metrics.ui.UI11    1   android.view.ViewRoot   submitPointerMetrics    
120 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
121 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
122 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
123 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
124 8   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
125 24  java.lang.ref.WeakReference 2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
126 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
127 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
128 20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
129 60  com.carrieriq.iqagent.client.metrics.ui.UI11    1   android.view.ViewRoot   submitPointerMetrics    
130 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
131 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
132 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
133 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
134 8   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
135 24  java.lang.ref.WeakReference 2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
136 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
137 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
138 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
139 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
140 20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
141 60  com.carrieriq.iqagent.client.metrics.ui.UI11    1   android.view.ViewRoot   submitPointerMetrics    
142 60  com.carrieriq.iqagent.client.metrics.ui.UI11    1   android.view.ViewRoot   submitPointerMetrics    
143 60  com.carrieriq.iqagent.client.metrics.ui.UI11    1   android.view.ViewRoot   submitPointerMetrics    
144 20  java.util.ArrayList 19  android.os.MessageQueue <init>  
145 36  android.os.MessageQueue 19  android.os.Looper   <init>  
146 24  android.os.Looper   19  android.os.Looper   prepare 
147 144 java.lang.Object[]  19  java.lang.ThreadLocal$Values    initializeTable 
148 32  java.lang.ThreadLocal$Values    19  java.lang.ThreadLocal   initializeValues    
149 16  java.lang.VMThread  1   java.lang.VMThread  create  
150 40  java.util.WeakHashMap$Entry 1   java.util.WeakHashMap   put 
151 16  java.security.ProtectionDomain[]    1   java.security.AccessControlContext  <init>  
152 20  java.security.AccessControlContext  1   java.security.AccessController  getContext  
153 16  java.security.ProtectionDomain[]    1   java.security.AccessController  getStackDomains 
154 24  java.lang.String    1   java.lang.AbstractStringBuilder toString    
155 48  char[]  1   java.lang.AbstractStringBuilder <init>  
156 20  java.lang.StringBuilder 1   java.lang.Thread    create  
157 16  android.view.ViewRoot$2 1   android.view.ViewRoot   handleLongPress 
158 80  java.lang.Thread    1   android.view.ViewRoot   handleLongPress 
159 60  com.carrieriq.iqagent.client.metrics.ui.UI11    1   android.view.ViewRoot   submitPointerMetrics    
160 24  org.apache.harmony.dalvik.ddmc.Chunk    5   android.ddm.DdmHandleHeap   handleREAQ  
161 17  byte[]  5   android.ddm.DdmHandleHeap   handleREAQ  
162 24  org.apache.harmony.dalvik.ddmc.Chunk    5   org.apache.harmony.dalvik.ddmc.DdmServer    dispatch    
163 12  java.lang.Integer   5   java.lang.Integer   valueOf 
164 24  byte[]  5   dalvik.system.NativeStart   run

As you can see, the events directly preceding GC and happening in between every GC, are pretty much as follows:

107 20  java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList$ListIteratorImpl  1   java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    
108 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
109 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
110 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
111 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
112 24  java.lang.ref.SoftReference 1   android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   
113 36  android.graphics.Bitmap 1   android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    
114 8   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize    
115 24  java.lang.ref.WeakReference 2   com.android.internal.os.BinderInternal$GcWatcher    finalize

I really wish the allocation tracker let me export the whole dump with individual stack traces, but it doesn't, so I'll paste a few stack traces here, most of which have to do with drawing:

android.graphics.Bitmap:

android.graphics.Bitmap nativeCreate    Bitmap.java -2  true    
android.graphics.Bitmap createBitmap    Bitmap.java 477 false   
android.view.View   buildDrawingCache   View.java   6716    false   
android.view.View   getDrawingCache View.java   6567    false   
android.view.ViewGroup  drawChild   ViewGroup.java  1571    false   
android.view.ViewGroup  dispatchDraw    ViewGroup.java  1373    false   
android.widget.AbsListView  dispatchDraw    AbsListView.java    1627    false   
android.widget.GridView dispatchDraw    GridView.java   1943    false   
android.view.View   draw    View.java   7022    false   
android.widget.AbsListView  draw    AbsListView.java    3005    false   
android.view.ViewGroup  drawChild   ViewGroup.java  1646    false   
android.view.ViewGroup  dispatchDraw    ViewGroup.java  1373    false   
android.view.View   draw    View.java   7022    false   
android.view.ViewGroup  drawChild   ViewGroup.java  1646    false   
android.view.ViewGroup  dispatchDraw    ViewGroup.java  1373    false   
android.view.ViewGroup  drawChild   ViewGroup.java  1644    false

java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList:

java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList   iterator    CopyOnWriteArrayList.java   332 false   
android.view.ViewTreeObserver   dispatchOnPreDraw   ViewTreeObserver.java   570 false   
android.view.ViewRoot   performTraversals   ViewRoot.java   1293    false   
android.view.ViewRoot   handleMessage   ViewRoot.java   1899    false   
android.os.Handler  dispatchMessage Handler.java    99  false   
android.os.Looper   loop    Looper.java 130 false   
android.app.ActivityThread  main    ActivityThread.java 3691    false   
java.lang.reflect.Method    invokeNative    Method.java -2  true    
java.lang.reflect.Method    invoke  Method.java 507 false   
com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller  run ZygoteInit.java 907 false   
com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit  main    ZygoteInit.java 665 false   
dalvik.system.NativeStart   main    NativeStart.java    -2  true

Here is my GridView container XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
  android:layout_width="fill_parent"
  android:layout_height="fill_parent"
  android:orientation="vertical" >
  <LinearLayout
    android:id="@+id/scroll_items_holder"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
    android:layout_weight="1"
    android:background="@drawable/app_bg"
    android:orientation="vertical" >
    <LinearLayout
      android:id="@+id/buttonsLayout"
      android:layout_width="fill_parent"
      android:layout_height="wrap_content"
      android:gravity="center" >
    </LinearLayout>
    <GridView
      android:id="@+id/gridview"
      android:layout_width="fill_parent"
      android:layout_height="wrap_content"
      android:columnWidth="150dp"
      android:gravity="right"
      android:horizontalSpacing="0dp"
      android:listSelector="@null"
      android:numColumns="auto_fit"
      android:paddingLeft="5dp"
      android:paddingRight="5dp"
      android:stretchMode="columnWidth"
      android:verticalSpacing="10dp" />
  </LinearLayout>
  <include layout="@layout/menu_bar_inc" />
</LinearLayout>

XML file for each GridView cell: 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
  android:id="@+id/card"
  android:layout_width="fill_parent"
  android:layout_height="wrap_content"
  android:orientation="vertical" >
  <ImageView
    android:id="@+id/thumbnail"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="120dp"
    android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
    android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
    android:layout_marginTop="5dp"
    android:scaleType="centerCrop" />
  <TextView
    android:id="@+id/show_name"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
    android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
    android:ellipsize="marquee"
    android:maxLines="1"
    android:textColor="@color/white"
    android:textStyle="bold" />
</LinearLayout>

Adapter, most of which is commented out:

package com.tunerfish.tunerfish.adapters;

import java.util.ArrayList;

import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.BaseAdapter;
import android.widget.TextView;

import com.tunerfish.tunerfish.core.TfHomeActivity;
import com.tunerfish.tunerfish.databasemanager.dataitem.EntityDataItem;
import com.tunerfish.tunerfish.ui.R;

public class TrendingGalleryAdapter extends BaseAdapter {

  // structure for dumb view holders
  public static class ViewHolder {
    public TextView showName;
    // public ImageViewWithLoader thumbnail;
  }

  // structure for actual data behind the ListView
  public static class EntityData {
    public EntityDataItem entityDataItem;
  }

  public final ArrayList<EntityData> mEntityDataList;

  private final LayoutInflater mInflater;

  public TrendingGalleryAdapter(TfHomeActivity context, ArrayList<EntityData> entityData) {
    mContext = context;
    mInflater = LayoutInflater.from(context);
    mEntityDataList = entityData;
  }

  @Override public int getCount() {
    return mEntityDataList.size();
  }

  @Override public EntityData getItem(int position) {
    return mEntityDataList.get(position);
  }

  @Override public long getItemId(int position) {
    return position;
  }

  private final TfHomeActivity mContext;

  @Override public View getView(final int position, View inView, ViewGroup parent) {
    ViewHolder holder;

    if (inView == null) {
      holder = new ViewHolder();
      inView = mInflater.inflate(R.layout.trending_item_mod, null);
      holder.showName = (TextView) inView.findViewById(R.id.show_name);
      // holder.thumbnail = (ImageViewWithLoader) inView.findViewById(R.id.thumbnail);

      inView.setTag(holder);
    } else {
      holder = (ViewHolder) inView.getTag();
    }

    // reset some stuff
    // holder.thumbnail.getImageView().setImageBitmap(null);

    // holder.showName.setText(getItem(position).entityDataItem.getTitle());

    // deal with thumbnails
    String thumbnailUrl = getItem(position).entityDataItem.getTrendingThumbnail();
    // mContext.sendImgDownloadRequest(thumbnailUrl, holder.thumbnail.getImageView(), R.drawable.tunerfish_details_logo2);

    return inView;
  }
}

So, this question may look long, but I wanted to include as much info as possible. I found a possibly related ListView issue Lots of garbage collection in a listview but unfortunately it doesn't seem to apply to GridViews.

Additionally, it doesn't seem like I'm alone with this problem - a friend of mine contacted me to ask about exactly the same issue in his app, completely independently.

My test devices are OG Droid running CM 7.1 and Epic 4G Touch running stock Gingerbread.

So is this a framework bug? Am I doing something wrong? Am I not including a certain parameter?

Thank you.

like image 350
Artem Russakovskii Avatar asked Oct 26 '11 00:10

Artem Russakovskii

1 Answers

After trying out more things at random, I believe I was able to solve the issue by setting GridView's scrollingCache to false in the XML. It's now buttery smooth.

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/AbsListView.html#attr_android:scrollingCache

So, a setting that is supposed to make the GridView use more memory and draw from cache faster in fact causes just the opposite due to GC by making it choppy. Turning the cache off uses less memory and isn't choppy anymore.

This is a win-win in my book, and I hope it helps someone in the future (ಠ_ಠ Google).

Edit: Just tried it on a decently-performing ListView, which occasionally would call GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC to free small amounts of memory. Removing it from a ListView got rid of many tiny GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC calls altogether and only an occasional larger GC_CONCURRENT call is left. Now a decently-performing ListView is a great-performing ListView. So scrollingCache seems to be something to avoid in any list and shouldn't be enabled by default IMO.

like image 158
Artem Russakovskii Avatar answered Nov 15 '22 16:11

Artem Russakovskii
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