What steps should be taken if a web application uses too much memory?

If a web application uses too much memory, the following steps should be taken:

1. Memory profiling — use tools to analyze memory consumption (e.g., tracemalloc, memory_profiler in Python) to identify leaks or objects that occupy a lot of memory.

2. Code optimization — check if unnecessary objects are being created, if large data is stored in memory without need, and use generators instead of lists where possible.

3. Cache management — if caching is used, ensure it does not grow uncontrollably, and set limits.

4. Resource release — explicitly close files, connections, delete object references so that the garbage collector can free memory.

5. Scaling — if the application truly requires a lot of memory, consider horizontal scaling or using more powerful hardware.

6. Monitoring — set up continuous memory monitoring in production to respond promptly to growth in consumption.

Example of using memory_profiler:

from memory_profiler import profile

@profile
def my_function():
    a = [i for i in range(1000000)]
    return a

my_function()