Volley out of memory error, weird allocation attempt

Volley Out of Memory Error: Weird Allocation Attempt

The “out of memory” error in Android’s Volley library is a common problem that can be frustrating to debug. This error usually occurs when Volley attempts to allocate a large amount of memory for a network request, exceeding the available memory resources.

Causes of the Issue

• Large Response Data: Downloading massive files (images, videos) or processing huge JSON responses.
• Memory Leaks: Unreleased objects (like Bitmaps) causing memory buildup over time.
• Aggressive Caching: Excessive caching of large responses can fill up memory.
• Incorrect Image Handling: Loading images directly into memory without proper scaling or optimization.
• Inefficient Code: Code that creates excessive temporary objects or inefficiently manages memory.

Common Symptoms

• Crash: The app suddenly terminates with an “Out of Memory” error.
• Slow Performance: The app becomes sluggish and unresponsive.
• Memory Pressure: Android’s memory warning messages may appear in the logcat.

Troubleshooting Steps

1. Analyze the Request and Response

• Examine the size of the data being downloaded.
• Check the network traffic for the request and response.

2. Profile Memory Usage

• Use Android Studio’s Profiler to monitor memory allocation during the request.
• Identify memory leaks and excessive memory consumption.

3. Inspect the Code

• Review the code for potential memory leaks, especially in image handling, data parsing, and object management.
• Ensure proper cleanup of resources like Bitmaps and other objects after use.

4. Optimizing Image Handling

// Load images with appropriate resizing
Picasso.get()
   .load(imageUrl)
   .resize(200, 200)
   .centerCrop()
   .into(imageView);

5. Configure Volley Cache

// Use a disk cache to avoid loading all data into memory
RequestQueue queue = Volley.newRequestQueue(context, new DiskBasedCache(cacheDir));

Code Example (Potential Issue)

// Downloading a large image without optimization
String imageUrl = "https://example.com/large_image.jpg";
ImageRequest imageRequest = new ImageRequest(imageUrl, new Response.Listener() {
   @Override
   public void onResponse(Bitmap response) {
      // Process the image
   }
}, 0, 0, null, Bitmap.Config.ARGB_8888, new Response.ErrorListener() {
   @Override
   public void onErrorResponse(VolleyError error) {
      // Handle error
   }
});
requestQueue.add(imageRequest);

Code Example (Optimized)

// Use Picasso for efficient image loading and resizing
String imageUrl = "https://example.com/large_image.jpg";
Picasso.get()
   .load(imageUrl)
   .resize(200, 200)
   .centerCrop()
   .into(imageView);

Additional Tips

• Use a memory leak detector (LeakCanary) to identify and address memory leaks.
• Consider using a memory-efficient image loading library (e.g., Picasso, Glide).
• Reduce the size of the image by compressing it before downloading.
• Enable network caching to avoid redundant downloads.

Conclusion

Volley’s “out of memory” error is often caused by inefficient memory management. By implementing these best practices and debugging techniques, you can effectively address this issue and improve the performance and stability of your Android applications.