Bytecode, GIL, and memory management

CPython compiles source code to bytecode (.pyc) executed by the virtual machine. Memory is managed via reference counting and a cyclic garbage collector, thread-locked by the Global Interpreter Lock.

How it reads

• sys.getrefcount(...) returns references pointing to the object
• CPython's GIL prevents multiple native threads from executing bytecodes at once

Cloud tip: Reference counting deletes objects immediately when count drops to 0; cycle GC handles self-referencing loops.