[FLEX-34230] StageText skins prevents garbage collection of component with TextInputs and TextAreas

• Type: Bug
• Status: Resolved
• Priority: Major
• Resolution: Fixed
• Affects Version/s: Apache Flex 4.12.0
• Fix Version/s: Apache Flex 4.12.1
• Component/s: Spark: TextArea, Spark: TextInput
• Labels: mobile
• Assignee: Maurice Amsellem
• Reporter: Alexander Scheibe
• Created: 16/Apr/14 14:57
• Updated: 01/May/14 21:40
• Resolved: 01/May/14 21:40

Description

In a mobile application with stage text based TextInput and TextArea elements garbage collection of sub components (e.g. a view) will not occur until another component with the same number of text inputs and text areas is added.
I would expect the component to be removed from memory (after the next garbage collection) when it was removed from its parent.

I created a demo app where a window with a text input with a StageTextInputSkin is opened. Each time the window is opened it will show a different number of text inputs (7, 5, 3, 1 and 7 again). Using a memory profiler (e.g. Flash Builders memory profiler) will show that the instances of the window are kept in memory until the window is opened again with 7 text inputs.
In our real world application this causes a lot of memory to be wasted.