What is reference counting in Python?

What is reference counting in Python?

Reference counting is a memory management technique used in Python to keep track of the number of references to an object.

How does it help in memory management?

It helps by automatically deallocating memory when an object's reference count drops to zero, preventing memory leaks.

Can you give an example of how reference counting works?

Sure! When you create an object and assign it to a variable, the reference count increases. If you delete the variable, the count decreases.

What happens if there are circular references?

Circular references can lead to memory leaks since the reference count won't drop to zero. Python uses a garbage collector to handle this.