How to implement guide with memory leak when using `rc` and `refcell` in rust with a custom tree structure
I'm not sure how to approach I'm dealing with I'm building a feature where Quick question that's been bugging me - I'm working with a memory leak in my Rust application when I use `Rc` and `RefCell` to create a tree structure... I have a simple implementation of a binary tree where each node can have two children. However, after constructing the tree, when I drop the root node, the memory usage doesn't decrease as expected. I've tried using `Weak` pointers to avoid strong reference cycles, but the scenario continues. Here’s a simplified version of my node structure: ```rust use std::cell::RefCell; use std::rc::{Rc, Weak}; struct Node<T> { value: T, left: Option<Rc<RefCell<Node<T>>>>, right: Option<Rc<RefCell<Node<T>>>>, } impl<T> Node<T> { fn new(value: T) -> Self { Node { value, left: None, right: None } } } fn main() { let root = Rc::new(RefCell::new(Node::new(1))); let left_child = Rc::new(RefCell::new(Node::new(2))); let right_child = Rc::new(RefCell::new(Node::new(3))); root.borrow_mut().left = Some(left_child); root.borrow_mut().right = Some(right_child); // Attempting to drop the tree drop(root); // Memory should be released here, but it's not. } ``` I have also tried using `Weak` pointers like so: ```rust struct Node<T> { value: T, left: Option<Rc<RefCell<Node<T>>>>, right: Option<Weak<RefCell<Node<T>>>>, } ``` But this leads to compilation errors because I need to borrow the weak reference as mutable. I'm unsure if I'm approaching the tree structure correctly or if there's a specific pattern I need to follow to ensure that memory is released properly. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated! This is part of a larger web app I'm building. What's the best practice here? This is my first time working with Rust 3.9. What would be the recommended way to handle this? Any pointers in the right direction? Hoping someone can shed some light on this. My team is using Rust for this desktop app.