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atomui-resource-lifecycle

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Use when changing AtomUI or Avalonia resource bindings, DynamicResource, TokenResourceBinder, non-Visual AvaloniaObject lifecycle, IResourceHost/IThemeVariantHost, owner/container attach cleanup, or investigating memory leaks and retained controls.

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AtomUI Resource Lifecycle

Overview

Resource lifecycle correctness is a hard boundary, not a performance optimization. Any object that subscribes, binds, attaches, caches, or enters an owner/container lifecycle must define the release event before the acquire call is accepted.

The Gallery rule is strict: after navigation settles, old ShowCases must not remain alive unless a feature explicitly owns a cache and documents its eviction policy.

DynamicResource Scoped Host Rule

A non-Visual AvaloniaObject must not carry DynamicResource or token-resource bindings unless it owns or is attached to a scoped IResourceHost with a verified release path.

Violations block merge because they can root an entire Gallery ShowCase through Application.ResourcesChanged.

Why This Leaks

Avalonia 12 DynamicResourceExpression chooses its resource host in this order:

  1. If the binding target implements IResourceHost, use the target.
  2. Otherwise use the XAML anchor / provider owner.
  3. Subscribe to the selected host's ResourcesChanged, and to ActualThemeVariantChanged when the host is an IThemeVariantHost.

Source references:

  • .referenceprojects/Avalonia/src/Markup/Avalonia.Markup.Xaml/Data/DynamicResourceExpression.cs:37-61
  • .referenceprojects/Avalonia/src/Markup/Avalonia.Markup.Xaml/Data/DynamicResourceExpression.cs:113-141
  • .referenceprojects/Avalonia/src/Markup/Avalonia.Markup.Xaml/Data/DynamicResourceExpression.cs:145-153

If the target is a non-Visual AvaloniaObject and does not implement IResourceHost, the host can fall back to Application. The leak chain then becomes:

Application.ResourcesChanged
  DynamicResourceExpression
    ValueStore
      non-Visual AvaloniaObject
        owner/header/container
          Gallery ShowCase visual tree

This exact pattern leaked DataGridColumn, DataGridColumnGroupItem, and NavMenuNode. Full case study: docs/engineering/avalonia-dynamic-resource-memory-leak-case-study.md.

Required Patterns

Owner-based objects, such as DataGridColumn:

  • Implement IResourceHost and IThemeVariantHost on the non-Visual object.
  • TryGetResource(...) queries the scoped owner first, then falls back to Application.Current.
  • Owner changes unsubscribe the old owner before assigning/subscribing the new owner.
  • Owner ResourcesChanged and ActualThemeVariantChanged are forwarded through the object.
  • Owner attach/detach raises ResourcesChanged so dynamic resources republish.

Container-driven data nodes, such as NavMenuNode:

  • Do not store a permanent last-container reference.
  • Attach through an API that returns IDisposable.
  • Store the disposable in the same owner/container CompositeDisposable as the node bindings.
  • Release through ClearContainerForItemOverride, detach, re-template, unregister, or owner disposal.
  • If multiple temporary attachments are possible, use attachment counting or an equivalent scoped token.

Global token bindings:

  • Do not create TokenResourceBinder.CreateGlobalTokenBinding(...) in constructors by default.
  • Create global bindings on first real use, such as first open/show.
  • Dispose the returned binding on close, unregister, detach, owner disposal, or the matching clear path.

Forbidden Patterns

  • target[!SomeProperty] = new DynamicResource... on a non-Visual AvaloniaObject that is not a scoped IResourceHost.
  • Constructor-time TokenResourceBinder.CreateGlobalTokenBinding(...) with no explicit release path.
  • Relying on Gallery route reset, DataContext clearing, or visual cleanup to break a global resource subscription.
  • Replacing dynamic resources with static values only to avoid a leak. That breaks theme/token behavior instead of fixing lifecycle.
  • Permanent owner/container references used only to keep resource lookup working.

Required Tests

Every fix or new non-Visual dynamic-resource target needs lifecycle and resource behavior coverage:

  • WeakReference test: dynamic resource does not root an otherwise unreferenced target after GC.
  • Owner resource test: target uses scoped owner resources before falling back to Application.
  • Resource update test: owner/application resource updates still republish values.
  • Gallery object-count test when applicable: after random navigation, only the current ShowCase remains alive.

The WeakReference test must simulate the XAML DynamicResourceExtension anchor shape. Hand-setting a property or using only static values does not reproduce the Application-root leak.

Review Trigger

Before approving changes in this area, scan for:

rg "DynamicResource|CreateGlobalTokenBinding|IResourceHost|IThemeVariantHost" --type cs src/ controlgallery/
rg "class .*: AvaloniaObject" --type cs src/
rg "ResourcesChanged \\+|ActualThemeVariantChanged \\+|CreateGlobalTokenBinding" --type cs src/ controlgallery/

Any non-Visual AvaloniaObject with dynamic resource/token binding and no scoped host lifecycle is a blocker.

Memory Validation

Use object counts, not RSS alone:

  • Current ShowCase count should settle to 1 after navigation.
  • Old ShowCaseItem, DataGridColumn, NavMenuNode, and DynamicResourceExpression counts must not grow monotonically across random navigation.
  • RSS can have load peaks; persistent old object graphs are the leak signal.