What is the effect of memory leaks in a C++ program?

Memory leaks in a C++ program occur when dynamically allocated memory is not properly deallocated, meaning the program loses the ability to access that memory even though it is still occupied. Over time, as a program continues to allocate memory without releasing it, the amount of free memory available to the system decreases. This can lead to increased paging or swapping, where the operating system is forced to write some memory to disk to free up RAM for other processes, which ultimately slows down both the program itself and the overall system performance.

As memory usage continues to grow without bounds, applications can become sluggish or even unresponsive, and in severe cases, the system may run out of memory altogether, leading to crashes or system instability. Thus, effective memory management is crucial in C++ programming to prevent memory leaks and ensure optimal performance.