How to Implement Garbage Collection with Python gc Module

09/14/2021

Contents

In this article, you will learn how to implement garbage collection with Python gc module.

Garbage Collection with Python gc Module

The Python gc (garbage collector) module is used for automatic memory management. It allows you to manage the memory usage of your Python program, by automatically detecting and deleting objects that are no longer being used.

To implement garbage collection with the gc module, you can follow these steps:

Import the gc module at the beginning of your Python script:
```
import gc
```
Use the gc.enable() function to enable garbage collection. This is usually already enabled, but you can use this function to make sure:
```
gc.enable()
```
Use the gc.disable() function to disable garbage collection, if you want to prevent it from running temporarily:
```
gc.disable()
```
Use the gc.collect() function to manually trigger a garbage collection cycle. This will run the garbage collector and delete any objects that are no longer being used:
```
gc.collect()
```
Use the gc.get_count() function to get the number of garbage collection cycles that have been run, and the number of objects that have been examined and collected:
```
gc.get_count()
```
Use the gc.get_threshold() function to get the current threshold values for when the garbage collector will automatically run:
```
gc.get_threshold()
```
Use the gc.set_threshold() function to set new threshold values for when the garbage collector will automatically run. The values should be a tuple of three integers, which represent the number of objects that must be allocated before the garbage collector is run, the ratio of the total number of allocated objects to the number of objects that have been freed, and the minimum number of objects that must be freed before the garbage collector is run:
```
gc.set_threshold(700, 10, 10)
```

By following these steps, you can effectively manage the memory usage of your Python program using the gc module.