When using the Spotfire Web Player, you may observe that it appears to retain more memory on Linux than on Windows.
This difference stems from how each operating system manages memory, rather than an issue with the Spotfire application itself. Below is an explanation of this behavior:
This difference stems from how each operating system manages memory, rather than an issue with the Spotfire application itself. Below is an explanation of this behavior:
Windows Memory Management
Windows is designed to release memory back to the operating system as soon as an application no longer needs it. After Spotfire’s internal memory cleanup process completes, Windows promptly frees up that memory, often moving unused portions to a temporary storage area (the pagefile). This results in lower reported memory usage for the Web Player on Windows.
Linux Memory Management
Linux takes a more conservative approach. Even after Spotfire frees memory internally, Linux may retain it within the application’s allocated space rather than releasing it immediately to the operating system. This is done to optimize performance by keeping memory available for potential reuse. As a result, the Web Player on Linux may show higher memory usage, even though much of this memory is not actively in use.
Summary
Windows prioritizes returning unused memory to the system quickly, reducing the memory footprint of applications like Spotfire.
Linux, by contrast, holds onto memory longer to improve efficiency, which can make the Web Player’s memory usage appear higher. This is a standard characteristic of how Linux manages resources and does not indicate a problem with Spotfire.
Windows prioritizes returning unused memory to the system quickly, reducing the memory footprint of applications like Spotfire.
Linux, by contrast, holds onto memory longer to improve efficiency, which can make the Web Player’s memory usage appear higher. This is a standard characteristic of how Linux manages resources and does not indicate a problem with Spotfire.
In summary, the Spotfire Web Player operates consistently across both platforms, but differences in operating system memory management lead to variations in reported memory usage. Higher memory retention on Linux is expected behavior and aligns with its design for resource handling