What is a memory leak?

[SemihAkin685]

What is a memory leak?

[xRookieFight]

A memory leak happens when a program fails to release unused memory, eventually consuming all available memory and slowing or crashing the system.

[CodeHex083]

A memory leak is a programming issue where a program allocates memory but fails to release it back when it is no longer needed. This causes the memory to be unusable by the program or other processes, which can gradually reduce the available memory and degrade system performance. Over time, memory leaks can lead to the program or system running out of memory, potentially causing crashes or slowdowns.​
In simple terms, it's like reserving space for data but never freeing it when you are done, so the reserved space is wasted and cannot be reused. This often happens when objects remain stored in memory but become inaccessible to the running code.​
Memory leaks are especially problematic in long-running programs or those that allocate memory frequently, as the unreleased memory accumulates continuously, impacting system stability and speed.