Python memory leaks

Fragsworth picture Fragsworth · Sep 16, 2009 · Viewed 161.6k times · Source

I have a long-running script which, if let to run long enough, will consume all the memory on my system.

Without going into details about the script, I have two questions:

  1. Are there any "Best Practices" to follow, which will help prevent leaks from occurring?
  2. What techniques are there to debug memory leaks in Python?

Answer

ChristopheD picture ChristopheD · Sep 16, 2009

Have a look at this article: Tracing python memory leaks

Also, note that the garbage collection module actually can have debug flags set. Look at the set_debug function. Additionally, look at this code by Gnibbler for determining the types of objects that have been created after a call.