PHP High Memory Usage

TheCase

Hi,

This is my script

  $memoryusage = memory_get_usage();
  echo "Memory $memoryusage";

It echos
Memory 320144

Im sure this is too high for just a simple script. The server is a virutal sever (vmware) 1.25GB RAM 2.2GHZ CPU.

Is this normal memory usage?

Thanks

bradgrafelman

TheCase wrote:
Im sure this is too high

You think 312kB is "too high" ? Er... based on what?

TheCase wrote:
Is this normal memory usage?

Normal for what? You haven't even shown us what the script does.

EDIT: Oh, you mean those two lines are the only thing you're executing?

Which extensions do you have loaded? Also, which version of PHP are you using?

EDIT2: For reference, my Windows installation of PHP 5.3.4 with the 'mbstring' extension loaded returns:

Memory 320760

dagon

for reference:

X-Powered-By: PHP/5.2.10 ZendServer
Memory 59800

and

PHP version: 5.2.6-1+lenny9
Memory 51244

X-Powered-By: PHP/5.2.14
Memory 48636

TheCase

Thanks both for the response. I was basing it on my other server running php 5.2 which reads 48456 for memory usage.

On the server that the memory is 320144 im running php 5.3 and only have MySQL loaded as a module.

Does that mean on the server that has a lower memory usage will use less bandwidth, load faster and use less resources or is memory usage meaningless.

Between my two servers which are set up in a very similair way the memory usage difference is 271 688 ... just seems like alot.

bradgrafelman

Memory usage and bandwidth have no correlation. As far as comparing two different servers, there are a lot of things that come into play - PHP version (lots of changes between 5.2 and 5.3), O/S, how PHP was compiled, etc. etc.

TheCase

Ok so technically PHP 5.3 puts more of a strain on the hardware than 5.2 as it uses 271 688 more memory.

The only difference in my two servers is OS and PHP version.

Windows XP PHP 5.2
Windows Server 2008 PHP 5.3

But the difference is just so great.

bradgrafelman

TheCase wrote:
Ok so technically PHP 5.3 puts more of a strain on the hardware than 5.2 as it uses 271 688 more memory.

First of all, I wouldn't be so quick to make such an assumption based on a single comparison with multiple variables involved.

Second, I wouldn't really call it a "strain," consider that difference which is "just so great" is barely 0.05% of the amount of memory my phone has, let alone a server.

laserlight

TheCase wrote:
Ok so technically PHP 5.3 puts more of a strain on the hardware than 5.2 as it uses 271 688 more memory.

Technically, you are making the mistake of using a toy to determine reality. Compare something realistic, and then see if the difference matters, if there is a non-negligible difference at all.

Here's a related example: with some C++ implementations, a beginner who compiles a "hello world" program may find that the executable size is rather large for so simple a program. This has to do with the way the standard library implementation is organised, and various other factors, but it turns out that when a more complex real world program is compiled, the initial overhead becomes negligible.

TheCase

Thanks guys for your response.

I guess it doesnt really matter as it does not effect the bandwidth and I have 1.5GB RAM I wasnt expecting such a big difference in a nearly the same setup