Reverting the incremental GC in Python 3.14 and 3.15

(discuss.python.org)

58 points | by curiousgal 3 days ago

3 comments

  • davidkwast 1 hour ago
    "Python 3.14 shipped with a new incremental garbage collector. However, we’ve had a number of reports of significant memory pressure in production environments.

    We’ve decided to revert it in both 3.14 and 3.15, and go back to the generational GC from 3.13."

    Sounds the right move for me

  • NooneAtAll3 53 minutes ago
    I'm genuinely surprised that python change was even possible without PEP
    • giancarlostoro 9 minutes ago
      Makes ya miss having a BDFL. Dang I didn't realize he's 70 now.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_van_Rossum

    • AdamN 46 minutes ago
      Yeah it seems like a miss. I guess the thinking was that it wasn't developer-facing and just an internal optimization. But of course any change to garbage collection will change the memory and cpu dynamics of the process in a material way.
    • Fizzadar 52 minutes ago
      Exactly! Would like to understand more how that came about. PEP exists for a reason.
  • askllk 46 minutes ago
    All these issues were known in previous attempts for removing the GIL. But if Instagram/Meta want it, everyone stands to attention and finds out the obvious problems years later. Kind of like in geopolitics.

    I hope Meta switches Instagram to PHP/Hack so they leave Python alone.