← TechnologyThe essentials of

Gc: collecting unreachable reference cycles

Publisher: ResumeMaker • 1 source

Published: 22 Oct 2026 16:11 · Updated: 22 Oct 2026 16:11

AI source check: 22 Oct 2026 14:04. This is not editorial approval.

In a few sentences

In brief

In CPython, gc controls a collector that supplements reference counting. Objects referring to one another can need this additional detection once they are unreachable.

Useful to know

In CPython, gc controls a collector that supplements reference counting. Objects referring to one another can need this additional detection once they are unreachable. [1]

Calling collect() is not a universal cure for memory growth. If the program still retains references, the objects have not become garbage. Investigate who owns the data before forcing collection after every operation.

Sources

For further detail and to check the information:

  1. [1] gc — Garbage Collector interface — Python 3.12.15 documentation ↗