Re: java.io.File

From:
Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.java.programmer
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 2011 08:17:15 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID:
<20850741.465.1322842636010.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@prnu18>
Mark wrote:

Lew wrote:

Mark wrote:

Can a java.io.File object use a OS file descriptor? I am trying to
find the source of a fd leak in a[n] application.


At some point, depending on the operations performed by the 'File' insta=

nce,

there may be a file descriptor involved, and then the 'File' instance ce=

rtainly

does use it, at least indirectly via JVM system calls that proxy to OS s=

ystem

calls.

From a Java perspective you should look for unclosed I/O streams/channel=

s and

packratted 'File' instances rather than file descriptors.

 
I've done a code inspection and the streams are all explicitly closed.
There are a number of File objects used and I notice that File does
not have a close() method so we have to rely on GC.


If there were a 'close()' method, as there is with streams, it would have n=
othing to do with GC. 'close()' is for resources (such as file handles). =
GC is for heap memory. I only suggested checking for packratted 'File' ins=
tances as a foolish guess. Now that I think about it, it is highly unlikel=
y that unclaimed instances would have anything to do with your issue.

Of course I'm shooting in the dark since you've said absolutely nothing =

about

your application, much less provided an http://sscce.org/.

 
I know. It would be difficult to produce an example since I cannot
reproduce the problem myself - it happens in production only and I
don't have any access there.
 
I get the exception:
java.io.IOException: Cannot run program "/path/to/script":
java.io.IOException: error=24, Too many open files


Do you have any reason to believe it's your program that holds those files?

The script is called via ProcessBuilder object and I don't see any
obvious problems there.


Or subtle ones either, I guess.

An irreproducible problem involving disparate runtime environments (inside =
and outside the JVM), executing black-box code on an undisclosed platform, =
yielding an error message possibly originated by an entity outside the JVM =
with no data forthcoming - is that the issue with which you request assista=
nce?

Note: the preceding paragraph implies a path forward, in that a problem st=
atement illuminates prospective solutions. In case you missed it, the path=
 forward is for you to gain visibility into that plethora of unknowns, or s=
adly report to your client, as we do to you, that with nothing to go on you=
 have nothing to offer.

Visibility involves things like logging. You do use logging, don't you?

As an extra benefit, the experience of using logs to diagnose a production =
issue will provide an object lesson into how useless most programmers are a=
t designing logging, and give you insight into proper logging practices.

--
Lew

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