[Python-Dev] interning

[Guido van Rossum]

> I've just submitted a new patch for http://python.org/sf/576101

I'll review it when I've got time.

> It passes regrtest but causes test_gc to leak 20 objects. 13 from 
> test_finalizer_newclass and 7 from test_del_newclass. These leaks
> go away if test_saveall is skipped. I've tried earlier versions of 
> this patch (which were ok at the time) and they now create this 
> leak too.
> 
> Some change since the last time I worked on interning must have 
> caused this. Either this change reveals a bug in my patch or my patch 
> reveals a subtle bug in the GC.
> 
> I don't know why it interacts with GC logic because strings are 
> non-gc objects. I've tried to untrack the interned dictionary because
> it plays dirty tricks with refcounts but it doesn't change the 
> symptom.

I've seen this too!  But only when I run the full test suite, not when
I run test_gc in isolation.  I made a number of small changes to the GC
code, I'll have to roll them back one at a time to see which one
caused this -- and then look for a solution. :-(

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)