Python 3.14 garbage collection rigamarole
Summary
The Consensus article analyzes Python 3.14's incremental garbage collector, introduced in 3.14.0, and the memory pressure that led to reverting the changes in 3.14.5. It explains reference counting, the interaction with the GC, and provides hands-on guidance by building both 3.14.4 and 3.14.5 locally to compare performance and memory behavior across workloads, including best and worst-case scenarios for incremental GC.