Configuring to Debug and Workaround Broken Client Applications

Configuring to Debug and Workaround Broken Client Applications

http://www.mchange.com/projects/c3p0/#configuring_to_debug_and_workaround_broken_clients

Sometimes client applications are sloppy about close()ing all Connections they check out. Eventually, the pool grows to maxPoolSize, and then runs out of Connections, because of these bad clients.

The right way to address this problem is to fix the client application. c3p0 can help you debug, by letting you know where Connections are checked out that occasionally don't get checked in. In rare and unfortunate situations, development of the client application is closed, and even though it is buggy, you cannot fix it. c3p0 can help you work around the broken application, preventing it from exhausting the pool.

The following parameters can help you debug or workaround broken client applications.

• debugUnreturnedConnectionStackTraces
• unreturnedConnectionTimeout

unreturnedConnectionTimeout defines a limit (in seconds) to how long a Connection may remain checked out. If set to a nozero value, unreturned, checked-out Connections that exceed this limit will be summarily destroyed, and then replaced in the pool. Obviously, you must take care to set this parameter to a value large enough that all intended operations on checked out Connections have time to complete. You can use this parameter to merely workaround unreliable client apps that fail to close() Connections.

Much better than working-around is fixing. If, in addition to setting unreturnedConnectionTimeout, you set debugUnreturnedConnectionStackTraces to true, then a stack trace will be captured each time a Connection is checked-out. Whenever an unreturned Connection times out, that stack trace will be printed, revealing where a Connection was checked out that was not checked in promptly. debugUnreturnedConnectionStackTraces is intended to be used only for debugging, as capturing a stack trace can slow down Connection check-out.