On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:48:37 -0800, James Stroud wrote: > Stef Mientki wrote: >> If I create a large array of data or class, >> how do I destroy it (when not needed anymore) ? >> >> Assign it to an empty list ? >> >> thanks, >> Stef Mientki > > It will be gc'd when you leave the scope or you can call del() to > explicitly get rid of the object if its existence bothers you.
That is not quite correct. big_list = ["data"]*1000000 another_reference = big_list del big_list At this point, the list of one million "data" strings still exists. del big_list doesn't delete the list object, it removes the name "big_list". Then, only if the list has a reference count of zero, Python will dispose of the object and free the memory (if your OS allows that). If there are still references to it, like "another_reference" above, it will not be disposed of. As far as I know there is no way to force the deletion of an object even if it is in use. This is a Good Thing. -- Steven D'Aprano -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
