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javascriptnode.jstyped-arrays

Why does Node sometimes hang when allocating Int8Array?

Consider the following two programs:

// works.js
var buffer = new ArrayBuffer(16777216);
var HEAP8 = new Int8Array(buffer);

and

// fails.js
var HEAP8;
var buffer = new ArrayBuffer(16777216);
HEAP8 = new Int8Array(buffer);

Run node then enter .load works.js. Everything seems happy. Now exit node.

Run node again and enter .load fails.js.

On my machine loading fails.js interactively leads the node process to consume over 1GB of RAM and 100% CPU, and the final statement blocks the interpreter forever. works.js just runs and returns as expected.

Is there some good reason for the difference? Or should I be writing a bug report?

Curiously enough, running either script directly from the command line works fine:

node works.js    # exits normally
node fails.js    # exits normally

UPDATE: I'm using node 0.12.0 on OS X 10.9.5

Solution

  • Is there some good reason for the difference? Or should I be writing a bug report?

    I doubt there is a good reason for this, you should file a bug.