Debugging a Memory Leak | Dataford Interview Questions

Walk through your approach to debugging a memory leak in a data processing script.

Describe how you would confirm the leak, narrow down the code path causing growth, and verify the fix. Assume the script processes records in a loop and may use lists, dictionaries, generators, or file handles.

Constraints

The script processes records in a loop.
Memory usage must be evaluated across repeated iterations.
The fix should preserve correct output behavior.
The debugging approach should work without changing the input data.

Function Signature

def debug_memory_leak(script_state):

Your question is Debugging a Memory Leak. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

Problem

Walk through your approach to debugging a memory leak in a data processing script.

Constraints

The script processes records in a loop.
Memory usage must be evaluated across repeated iterations.
The fix should preserve correct output behavior.
The debugging approach should work without changing the input data.

Function Signature

def debug_memory_leak(script_state):

Your question is Debugging a Memory Leak. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.