Advanced Python Programming

The problem that the GIL addresses

Keeping Python's implementation of memory and variable management in mind, we can see that references to a given value in Python are constantly changing in a program, and keeping track of the reference count for a value is therefore highly important.

Now, applying what you learned in Chapter 21, Race Conditions, you should know that in a Python concurrent program, this reference count is a shared resource that needs protection from race conditions. In other words, this reference count is a critical section, which, if handled carelessly, will result in an incorrect interpretation of how many variables are referencing a particular value. This will cause memory leaks that will make Python programs significantly ...