Mimalloc, a high-performance memory allocator developed by Daan Leijen, continues to see active development with a focus on cross-platform compatibility and security improvements.
Recent efforts have concentrated on enhancing compatibility across various architectures and operating systems, including ARM64 and RISC-V, while also implementing guarded memory allocation features to improve security.
Recent issues and pull requests indicate a strong focus on compatibility and performance. Notable issues include #941 regarding ARM64 support and #939 about aligned memory on RISC-V systems. These reflect ongoing challenges in ensuring Mimalloc's adaptability across diverse environments.
Daan Leijen (daanx)
Teodor Spæren (rHermes)
Summary
Quantified Reports
Detailed Reportsstd::shared_pointer issues and compilation errors.Mads Marquart (madsmtm)
Joshua Root (jmroot)
Alon Zakai (kripken)
Guarded Memory Allocation: Significant effort is being directed towards implementing guarded allocations, indicating a focus on enhancing security features.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Active contributions are addressing compatibility issues across various platforms, such as macOS and Android.
Robust Testing Tools: The addition of fuzzing harnesses reflects an emphasis on robustness against unexpected inputs.
Community Engagement: The project sees active community participation, with users contributing technical insights and suggestions for improvement.
Documentation Improvements: Ongoing efforts to refine documentation through typo corrections and clarity enhancements contribute to better user experience.
| Timespan | Opened | Closed | Comments | Labeled | Milestones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Days | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 Days | 9 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| 90 Days | 21 | 5 | 50 | 21 | 1 |
| 1 Year | 91 | 48 | 194 | 91 | 1 |
| All Time | 608 | 327 | - | - | - |
Like all software activity quantification, these numbers are imperfect but sometimes useful. Comments, Labels, and Milestones refer to those issues opened in the timespan in question.
| Developer | Avatar | Branches | PRs | Commits | Files | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathaniel Brough (silvergasp) | 0 | 1/0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Max Bachmann (maxbachmann) | 0 | 1/0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Doctor Lai (doctorlai-msrc) | 0 | 2/0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PRs: created by that dev and opened/merged/closed-unmerged during the period
The Microsoft Mimalloc project currently has 281 open issues, indicating ongoing user engagement and potential areas for improvement. Recent activity shows a mix of inquiries regarding compatibility, performance issues, and feature requests, with notable discussions around memory allocation behavior on various platforms.
A recurring theme is the interaction between Mimalloc and specific operating system features or other libraries, particularly concerning memory management and allocation strategies. For instance, multiple users have reported issues related to memory allocation failures or unexpected behavior when using Mimalloc in conjunction with other libraries like Wwise or during specific operations like file dialogs on Windows.
Issue #941: Windows ARM64 support?
Issue #940: How to use mimalloc for java app on windows?
Issue #939: Unable to obtain aligned memory on RISC-V systems with an SV39 MMU
Issue #938: Wrong mimalloc stat with asan
Issue #640: Lots of warnings due to failing to allocate aligned OS memory
Issue #640: Lots of warnings due to failing to allocate aligned OS memory
Issue #939: Unable to obtain aligned memory on RISC-V systems with an SV39 MMU
Issue #938: Wrong mimalloc stat with asan
This activity suggests a vibrant user community that is both leveraging Mimalloc's capabilities and contributing to its development through feedback and issue reporting.
The analysis of the pull requests (PRs) for the Microsoft Mimalloc project reveals a diverse range of contributions aimed at enhancing functionality, fixing bugs, and improving documentation. The PRs cover various aspects of the allocator, from platform-specific fixes to feature additions and optimizations.
heap.c. This PR is significant as it addresses a false positive warning that could hinder development on certain compilers.readme.md, correcting "Adress" to "Address". While minor, such fixes improve documentation clarity.readme.md, correcting "speficic" to "specific".prim.c, addressing a warning about the implicit declaration of getenv.mi_cfree, which is critical for memory management integrity.libatomic but was closed after refactoring by another contributor.The pull requests reflect a healthy mix of maintenance, feature enhancement, and community engagement within the Mimalloc project. The presence of PRs addressing cross-platform compatibility (e.g., fixes for DragonFly BSD and macOS static linking) highlights the project's commitment to supporting a wide range of environments.
The addition of testing tools like fuzzing harnesses (PR #931) indicates an emphasis on robustness and security, which is crucial for a memory allocator used in various applications. Furthermore, minor improvements such as typo fixes (e.g., PRs #934, #926) and documentation updates (e.g., PRs #917, #911) contribute to better maintainability and user experience.
The closure of PRs like #901 and #898 without merging suggests an active review process where contributions are carefully evaluated for their impact and completeness. This is essential for maintaining high-quality standards in an open-source project.
Overall, the activity around pull requests in the Mimalloc project demonstrates a vibrant community with ongoing efforts to enhance the allocator's performance, reliability, and usability across different platforms.
dev-guarded into dev-slice.std::shared_pointer and compilation errors when passing heap pointers.Dominance of Daan Leijen: Daan is the primary contributor, showing a consistent focus on enhancing testing frameworks, fixing bugs, and implementing new features. His activity indicates a strong emphasis on maintaining code quality and performance optimization.
Collaborative Merging: Frequent merging of branches suggests an active integration process within the team, ensuring that new features and fixes are consistently incorporated into the main development line.
Focus on Guarded Allocations: Recent efforts are heavily directed towards implementing and refining guarded memory allocation features, indicating a strategic focus on improving security and reliability.
Limited Activity from Other Members: Other team members have shown minimal recent activity, suggesting that while they contribute occasionally, the bulk of development work is concentrated with Daan.
Cross-platform Compatibility Efforts: Ongoing contributions from team members like Mads and Joshua highlight a commitment to ensuring compatibility across different operating systems, particularly macOS.
The development team is actively engaged in enhancing the Mimalloc project, with a clear focus on performance improvements, security features, and cross-platform compatibility. Daan's leadership is pivotal in driving these initiatives forward, while other contributors provide targeted support for specific issues. The recent activities reflect a robust development cycle aimed at maintaining high standards of code quality and functionality.