Junior — Middle
How are immutable objects implemented in memory in programming?
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Answer from AI
In Python, objects with immutable properties are implemented so that their internal state cannot be changed after creation. Examples of such objects are strings (str), tuples (tuple), numbers (int, float).
This is achieved in memory as follows:
- When an object is created, a memory area with data is allocated.
- All methods that could change the state instead create a new object.
- The object itself does not provide interfaces for modifying its data.
For example, a string in Python is a sequence of characters stored in memory, and attempting to change a character results in the creation of a new string.
This allows such objects to be safely used as dictionary keys or set elements, and also simplifies memory management and interpreter optimizations.