Subverting control with weak references
Briefly

Weak references in JavaScript provide an essential tool for developers, enabling better memory management by allowing objects to be garbage collected when they are no longer referenced. The WeakMap structure holds weak references to keys, preventing memory leaks. The deref method in the WeakRef class allows for fetching these weakly held objects safely. This abstraction reduces unnecessary memory retention, streamlining the performance of applications by ensuring that non-essential references do not hinder garbage collection processes.
Weak references do not prevent garbage collection, allowing for more efficient memory management and reducing memory leaks, particularly through constructs like WeakMap.
In JavaScript, APIs for weak references ask you to call a function to retrieve values, which helps ensure stability during program execution.
WeakMap maintains weak references to keys, enabling garbage collection when the keys are no longer in use, which optimizes memory usage.
Weak references offer unique abstractions in programming languages, facilitating advanced memory management techniques that improve application performance.
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