Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Android Studio upgrade improves memory profiler

news
Nov 20, 20151 min

Android Studio 1.5 also fixes bugs and improves lint checks for static code analysis

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Version 1.5 of the Android Studio IDE has been released, featuring improvements focused on stability. Chief among the new features is an improved memory profiler that assists developers in detecting commonly known causes of leaked activities.

“This new analysis feature can analyze a heap dump to look for known problems, such as leaked activities,” said Reto Meier, of Google, in a video accompanying the release. Several lint checks for static code analysis have been added as well, including one that warns if a developer is attempting to override resources references from the manifest. Also, the theme editor in the IDE now shows previews.

“There’s a number of bug fixes in the editor area where we’ve been working hard to polish code completion for resource and manifest files,” Meier said. “For example, you can now use short names when doing code completion for custom views. We also make sure that Android Studio doesn’t steal your focus if you switch virtual desktops during the build and run phase.”

Known as the “official” IDE for building Android mobile applications, Android Studio has been based on the IntelliJ Idea Java development environment.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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