Why doesn't memory id change when there are no references to it?

Question

>>> x = 5
>>> id(x)
40186104
>>> x += 6
>>> id(x)
40185960
>>> z = 5
>>> id(z)
40186104

Python deletes all objects once there are no more references to it.

Here when x is bound to 11, there are no more references to 5. So I suppose it is deleted. Then why does its id remain the same after reallocation?

The other possibility is that 5 is not deleted at all. If so, then why?

In general, no: most duplicates stay around. Having multiple copies of the same question with different wording is useful as search fodder, because people looking for an answer may use different wording too. — bluefoggy, Nov 20 '16 at 10:14

score -3 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 20 '16 at 09:53

-3

As the documentation notes

Two objects with non-overlapping lifetimes may have the same id() value.

answered Nov 20 '16 at 09:53

zabeltech

963
11
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2

Although that's true, it isn't what's going on here. – jonrsharpe Nov 20 '16 at 09:56

Why doesn't memory id change when there are no references to it?

1 Answers1