Memory Management

Definitions

1. The set of techniques a language or runtime uses to allocate, track, and reclaim memory during program execution. Approaches range from manual management (C's malloc/free), to reference counting (Swift, Objective-C), to tracing garbage collection (Java, Go), to ownership systems (Rust's borrow checker).

   In plain English: How a programming language keeps track of memory that's being used and reclaims it when it's no longer needed.

   Example: "Rust's memory management catches use-after-free at compile time — no GC pauses, no manual free."

Related Terms

• Interrupt
• Memory Allocation
• Linux Kernel
• Low-Level Programming
• Managed Language
• Resource
• Resource Leak
• Signed Integer