memory leak n.
An error in a program's dynamic-store allocation logic that causes it to fail to reclaim discarded memory, leading to eventual collapse due to memory exhaustion. Also (esp. at CMU) called [core leak]. These problems were severe on older machines with small, fixed-size address spaces, and special "leak detection" tools were commonly written to root them out. With the advent of virtual memory, it is unfortunately easier to be sloppy about wasting a bit of memory (although when you run out of memory on a VM machine, it means you've got a real leak!). See [aliasing bug], [fandango on core], [smash the stack], [precedence lossage], [overrun screw], [leaky heap], [leak].
Node:
, Next:
, Previous: