Question

Provide example source code in Python that the standard garbage collection features will fail to collect automatically.

Answer 1

Answer: Standard garbage collection features will fail to collect automatically when a reference cycle is created in

the program .

Reference cycle means an object  refers to itself.

Source Code where standard garbage collection features will fail to collect automatically.

  

def cycle():

# create a list x
x = [ ]  

# A reference cycle is created
# here x contains reference to itself  
x.append(x)

cycle()

Here ,an object x which refers to itself, the object x will not automatically be freed when the function returns. This will cause the memory that x is using to be held onto until the Python garbage collector is invoked manually .