How does Python manage memory allocation for storing variables?

Python manages memory automatically using an integrated memory management mechanism, which includes:

• Memory allocation: When creating a variable, Python allocates memory from a memory pool managed by the interpreter.
• Garbage collection: Python uses reference counting to track how many objects reference data in memory. When an object's reference count drops to zero, the memory is freed.
• Cycle detector: For objects involved in cyclic references that cannot be removed by reference counting, a cyclic garbage collector is used.

Example:

x = [1, 2, 3]  # A list is created, memory is allocated automatically

y = x           # The reference count to the object increases

del x           # The reference count decreases, but the object is not deleted because y references it

del y           # Now the reference count is zero, and the memory is freed

Thus, programmers do not need to manually manage memory, which simplifies development.