Glossary Entry: Memory leak

Memory leaks are a common type of bug. They occur when a program isn't managing its resources properly. Over time, it allocates more and more memory to itself, and eventually the system will refuse to give the program more resources. At this point, the program will crash.

A tell-tale sign of a memory leak in progress is the computer gradually slowing down while a program is running. Restarting the offending program will fix the issue temporarily.