Open Radar

 
Summary:
Quartz Composer (both editor and framework) crashes at random intervals for seemingly no reason, and in unpredictable ways. The stack trace always indicates -[QCImageManager optimizeCaches], and I have removed all plugins and patches at both system and user level. Whilst the problem is not always reproducible, it seems to be exacerbated by the use of Render In Images, Image with String, perhaps some others. 

There has been extensive discussion on quartzcomposer-dev list about this bug and many people are experiencing it. There does not appear to be any known pattern regarding O/S or GPU vendor that is causing it. The problem seems to have existed since 10.8 and is now worse in 10.9.

Discussion on list (thread "QCImageManager crash, this time with HID Input device" http://osdir.com/ml/general/2013-12/msg31048.html ) has indicated that the problem occurs when textures are generated frequently. For example, when an Image With String patch has it's string input changed every frame.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Ensure all Quartz Composer plugins and patches are uninstalled
2. Launch Quartz Composer and start a blank document
3. Connect an Interpolator to an Image With String to a Billboard, and press play.
4. The text will show the number changing every frame.
5. On certain devices, the composition will crash within 30-60 seconds.

Expected Results:
The composition is stable and does not crash.

Actual Results:
The composition crashes on certain devices. As a community, we have not been able to identify the parameters that determine which devices are crashing and which aren't. Please see the attached ZIP file which carries two system profiles (a Mac Mini that does crash, and a MacBook Pro that doesn't), a sample QTZ and a crash log from the Mac Mini.

Version:
Quartz Composer 4.6 (148)
Also built applications that use the Quartz Composer framework to present QTZ compositions are prone to this crash.

Notes:
What else is known?

- This has been experienced in 10.8
- The crash affects not only Quartz Composer Editor, but also built applications using Quartz Composer Framework

Other relevant references:

- Smokris' bug report https://openradar.appspot.com/12105667
- Thread on Kineme http://kineme.net/forum/General/FrequentcrashesonMountainLionwithexamplepatch

Configuration:
My Mac Mini (crashing)
OS X 10.9.1 (13B42)
Macmini5,2, Intel Core i5, 2.5 GHz, 16 GB
AMD Radeon HD 6630M, 256 MB, ROM 113-C0171H-561, EFI 01.00.561
DELL 2407WFP 1920x1200 32bit
DELL 2407WFP 1920x1200 32bit

My MacBook Pro (not crashing)
OS X 10.9.1 (13B42)
MacBookPro5,4, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.53 GHz, 8 GB
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 256 MB, ROM 3448
LCD 1440x900 32bit

MacBook Pro with Retina (crashing only when using NVIDIA, not when using Intel Iris Pro)
OS X 10.9 (13A3017)
MacBookPro11,2, Intel Core i7, (2.3 GHz), 16 GB
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, 2GB / Intel Iris Pro 5200 1GB 
OS X 10.9.1 (13B42)
Macmini5,2, Intel Core i5, 2.5 GHz, 16 GB
AMD Radeon HD 6630M, 256 MB, ROM 113-C0171H-561, EFI 01.00.561