How can I identify circular references in Python?

How can I identify circular references in Python?

You can identify circular references in Python using the gc module, which provides functions to interact with the garbage collector.

Can you show me an example of how to use the gc module for this?

Sure! You can use gc.get_referrers() to find objects that reference a particular object. Here's a simple example:

import gc

class Node:
    def __init__(self):
        self.ref = None

node1 = Node()
node2 = Node()
node1.ref = node2
node2.ref = node1  # Circular reference

# Enable garbage collection
gc.collect()

# Check for circular references
print(gc.garbage)  # This will show any objects that are unreachable due to circular references.

What if I want to break the circular reference?

You can break the circular reference by setting one of the references to None. For example, you can do node1.ref = None or node2.ref = None to break the cycle.