python garbage collector doesn't collect?

Asked May 29 '21 at 11:19

Active May 29 '21 at 11:19

Viewed 363 times

trying to figure out when garbage collector collects and what it collects,

import gc
a = 1
print(gc.get_count())
a = 2
print(gc.get_count())
a = 3
print(gc.get_count())
gc.collect()
print(gc.get_count())
print(a)

output:

(101, 5, 3)
(128, 5, 3)
(128, 5, 3)
(0, 0, 0)
3

why it prints a after (0, 0, 0)? from what i understood it cleans reference cycles only, if it is why do i get (0, 0, 0)? variable a need to promoted to second level?

asked May 29 '21 at 11:19

Ori

if you want to clean the reference `a` you can use `del a`. `collect()` will clean the memory, not references. – Paul Lemarchand May 29 '21 at 11:28
if im cleaning my memory, it should clean my variables too? – Ori May 29 '21 at 11:49
see https://stackoverflow.com/a/1316793/6252134 – Paul Lemarchand May 29 '21 at 12:12
can't understand, i can del them without the collector, what the collector does? I've seen it free the reference cycles that stuck, if it is variable a should be promoted to second generation am i wrong? – Ori May 29 '21 at 12:22
if you `del` their reference, you are also telling the collector to collect their real memory as they are unreachable. Then you can do `collect()`. – Paul Lemarchand May 29 '21 at 12:27
then why there is del or why do i get (0, 0, 0)? – Ori May 29 '21 at 13:07

python garbage collector doesn't collect?

0 Answers0