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Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2013 16:03:00 +0000 (UTC)
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Subject: Re: when to dispose of objects for garbage collection?
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I should have mentioned regarding question 2 and 3, that the DataGrid, ComboBox, etc., used by the TitleWindow was CREATED in the TitleWindow, and is not used external to the TitleWindow. The questions being whether the TitleWindow automatically cleans up these variables for GC, or requires me to null them first...

----- Original Message -----
From: modjklist@comcast.net
To: users@flex.apache.org
Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2013 8:52:05 AM
Subject: when to dispose of objects for garbage collection?


Can someone help me identify when I need to dispose of an object, array, etc. in a typical Flex app? 

For example, suppose I have an app with several states and a TitleWindow. 

I know that if I declare a variable for a state, such as: 

<fx:Script> 
<![CDATA[ 
  ...
  private var myArr:Array;
  ...	
]]>
</fx:Script>

that when I no longer need this array (or object, etc.), I should set it to null to inform the garbage collector (GC) it's ready to be picked up. That's because, otherwise, this variable remains in memory, since the state persists throughout the life of the app.

But what if this state uses the following function:

<fx:Script> 
<![CDATA[ 
  private var summation:Number;
  ...	
  private function myFunc():void {
      var anotherArr:Array=[1,2,3,4,5]
      for (var i:int=0; i<anotherArr.length; i++)
        summation+=anotherArr[i];
  }
  ...
]]>
</fx:Script>

QUESTION 1: Do I need to manually null variable myArr2 at the end of function myFunc()? Or, will it be picked up automatically by the GC?

How about TitleWindows? 

QUESTION 2: If I open a TitleWindow (e.g. popup) that contains a DataGrid, do I need to manually null its data provider when I close the TitleWindow? Or, will it be picked up automatically by the GC? 

QUESTION 3: This last question also applies to a data provider for ComboBox, or an ArrayList, or an Array that is used in a TitleWindow -- do I need to null those as well upon closing the window? Or, will they be picked up automatically by the GC?

Thanks in advance for any comments.