Understanding Memory Management in JavaScript: How Garbage Collection Keeps Your Code Tidy

As developers, it’s important to understand how memory management works in JavaScript to optimize our code’s performance. In this article, we will explore the core concepts of memory allocation and garbage collection. By demystifying these processes, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of how JavaScript efficiently handles memory usage.

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Memory Allocation — Heap and Stack

When JavaScript runs, it allocates memory in two main areas: the heap and the stack.

1. Heap Memory
   The heap memory is where dynamically allocated objects are stored. This includes objects created using the new keyword, arrays, and objects referenced by variables or data structures like linked lists and trees. The heap memory is managed by the garbage collector, which automatically frees up memory when objects are no longer in use.
2. Stack Memory
   The stack memory is used for function calls and local variables. Whenever a function is called, a new frame is added to the stack to store local variables, function arguments, and return addresses. As functions are called and returned, the stack grows and shrinks accordingly. The stack memory is organized in a…