2 - Reference Counting and Garbage Collection
Enroll to start learning
You’ve not yet enrolled in this course. Please enroll for free to listen to audio lessons, classroom podcasts and take practice test.
Practice Questions
Test your understanding with targeted questions
What is reference counting?
💡 Hint: Think about how Python knows when to release memory.
What happens when an object's reference count reaches zero?
💡 Hint: What does Python do with unused objects?
4 more questions available
Interactive Quizzes
Quick quizzes to reinforce your learning
What is the primary purpose of reference counting in Python?
💡 Hint: Think about what happens when an object's reference count reaches zero.
True or False: Cyclic garbage collection can handle circular references.
💡 Hint: Recall how Python's garbage collector identifies uncollectable objects.
2 more questions available
Challenge Problems
Push your limits with advanced challenges
Create a Python program that demonstrates the issue of circular references and how it is resolved using the gc module. Debug it to ensure no memory leak occurs.
💡 Hint: Ensure to import the gc module and create instances to test.
Explain in detail why it's essential for developers to understand both reference counting and cyclic garbage collection. Illustrate your explanation with a practical example.
💡 Hint: Consider scenarios in applications where memory usage impacts performance.
Get performance evaluation
Reference links
Supplementary resources to enhance your learning experience.