Reference Cycle

A reference cycle occurs when two or more objects in a program keep pointing to each other, creating a loop. For example, Object A points to Object B, and Object B points back to Object A. This loop can prevent memory management systems from recognizing that these objects are no longer in use, leading to memory being unnecessarily kept alive. In languages with automatic memory management, like garbage collection, reference cycles can cause memory leaks if not properly handled. Detecting and breaking these cycles ensures efficient memory use and program stability.