Detecting memory leaks

[Jive]

The short form of the question is, how can I trace memory usage (preferably
from C) with an eye toward finding out if I'm leaking memory?

I would have thought there would be a ton of info on this, but I've been
googling for half and hour and I keep coming up empty.

I've recently ported Python to a realtime operating system, and I've
implemented a small C extension module.  The system controls a piece of
equipment.  A test program runs for about a week and then crashes.  The
first thing I think of to eliminate is the possibility of a memory leak.

I would also welcome a list of common causes of infant mortality in new
ports and extensions.

jdadson at yahoo dott com