The best solution to Find Memory leaks

Question

Possible Duplicate:
How to Test for Memory Leaks?
how to find memory leak in c++ code/project
How to find a memory leak in C++
Is there a good Valgrind substitute for Windows?

I've got a lot memory leaks in my C++ program. What's the solution (program) to find them?

@Thorsten: No, the real snarky comment is "don't use `new`". — Cody Gray - on strike, Jan 12 '12 at 11:02
possible duplicate of [How to Test for Memory Leaks?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/420599/how-to-test-for-memory-leaks), [Is there a good Valgrind substitute for Windows?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/413477/is-there-a-good-valgrind-substitute-for-windows) — Cody Gray - on strike, Jan 12 '12 at 11:04
Also, see [this question](http://stackoverflow.com/q/6261201/594137) and [this question](http://stackoverflow.com/q/996498/594137) — Samuel Harmer, Jan 12 '12 at 11:06
Don't manage memory yourself; always use [RAII](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_Acquisition_Is_Initialization). — Mike Seymour, Jan 12 '12 at 11:18

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 12 '12 at 11:03

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I like using valgrind. Assuming g++ or clang++, compile your program with -g and try:

valgrind --leak-check=full ./your_executable

answered Jan 12 '12 at 11:03

thesamet

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justin · Answer 2 · 2012-01-12T11:15:30.480

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The best solution is to modernize your program.

Search your programs for new and delete.
Update your program to use smart pointers. Everywhere.
Introducing leaks after that is complete will be "pretty difficult", if you've done it correctly.

If you're on OS X man leaks, the leaks Instrument, or valgrind. You can use these to watch the leak counts drop as the program is modernized ;)

edited Jan 12 '12 at 11:15

answered Jan 12 '12 at 11:04

justin

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 12 '12 at 11:02

1

For which OS?

On Linux based systems, Valgrind. Free.

On Windows based systems, Insure++, Purify.... many.

answered Jan 12 '12 at 11:02

Aravind

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The best solution to Find Memory leaks

3 Answers3