Open python command-line interpreter. Enter:

>>> a = range (10000000)

Observe Python memory usage. 20 Mb real, 159 Mb virtual memory here(I'm on windows). Enter:

>>> a = 0

Observe memory usage again. 120 mb real/120 mb virtual. OK, this is a garbage collected language, lets try to garbage-collect.

>>> import gc
>>> gc.collect()
0

That didn't help. The memory usage is still at 120/120.

So, the question is, when that "range" object will get deleted, or how to do delete it manually? Why garbage collection doesn't get rid of "orphaned" objects?

Any comments?