Chapter 9: Memory Management and Performance Optimization in Python
Python's memory management is primarily characterized by automatic memory allocation and deallocation through techniques such as reference counting and garbage collection. This chapter explores various methods to monitor memory usage, profile performance, and optimize code for efficiency. By implementing strategies like using generators, built-in functions, and leveraging libraries such as NumPy and Cython, developers can significantly enhance performance and resource utilization in Python applications.
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Sections
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What we have learnt
- Python uses reference counting for memory management and can handle cyclic references through garbage collection.
- Tools such as sys, gc, and memory_profiler allow programmers to monitor memory usage effectively.
- Profiling code with cProfile and timeit identifies performance bottlenecks to focus optimization efforts.
Key Concepts
- -- Reference Counting
- A mechanism where Python keeps track of the number of references pointing to an object in memory.
- -- Cyclic Garbage Collection
- A method to detect and collect objects that are part of reference cycles that reference each other, preventing memory leaks.
- -- Profiling
- The process of measuring the resource usage of a program, helping identify areas for optimization.
- -- Generators
- Iterators that yield items one at a time and are used to save memory during iterations.
- -- NumPy
- A library for numerical computing that provides support for large, multi-dimensional arrays and matrices, along with a collection of high-level mathematical functions.
- -- Cython
- A programming language that makes writing C extensions for Python easier, which can greatly increase execution speed.
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