scrapinghub / scrapinghub/dateparser

`RELATIVE_BASE` memory leak

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#985 2 comments 4 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Type: Enhancement
Dominant language
Python
Stars
2.9k
Forks
520
Avg merge
22h 56m
Merged PRs (30d)
6

Description

Minimal code:

from dateparser import parse

while True:
    ret = parse('24 august', settings={'RELATIVE_BASE': datetime.now()})

Since for each new relative_base, a new settings object is created and cached, memory grows VERY quickly.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the minimal reproduction in the issue and inspect how settings objects are created and cached when RELATIVE_BASE changes. Confirm the memory growth with repeated unique relative bases, then identify the relevant regression-test location; done means repeated parsing no longer causes unbounded memory growth.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
performance
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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