Python Essential Reference, Second Edition

Performance and Memory Considerations

All Python objects minimally include an integer reference count, a descriptor defining the type, and the representation of the actual data. Table 3.12 shows the approximate memory requirements of various built-in objects based on the C implementation of Python 2.0 running on a 32-bit machine. The precise values may vary slightly according to the implementation of the interpreter and machine architecture. (For instance, the memory requirements may double on a 64-bit machine.) Although you may never need to think about memory utilization, Python is used in a variety of high-performance and memory-critical applications ranging from supercomputing to mobile computing. The memory footprint of the built-in types ...