Why does Node sometimes freeze when distributing Int8Array?

Question

Consider the following two programs:

// works.js var buffer = new ArrayBuffer(16777216); var HEAP8 = new Int8Array(buffer); 

and

 // fails.js var HEAP8; var buffer = new ArrayBuffer(16777216); HEAP8 = new Int8Array(buffer); 

Run node , then type .load works.js . Everything seems happy. Now exit node .

Launch node and enter .load fails.js .

On my machine boot, fails.js interactively leads to the node process to consume more than 1 GB of RAM and 100% CPU, and the final statement blocks the interpreter forever. works.js just starts and returns as expected.

Is there a good reason for the difference? Or should I write a bug report?

Curiously, running the script directly from the command line is fine:

 node works.js # exits normally node fails.js # exits normally 

UPDATE . I am using node 0.12.0 for OS X 10.9.5

Answer 1

Is there a good reason for the difference? Or should I write a bug report?

I doubt there is a good reason for this; you must write down the error .