String interning

Okay kiddo, do you know what a string is? It's a group of letters and words put together, like your name or your favorite toy's name.

Now, let's say you write your name on a piece of paper and your friend writes your name on a different piece of paper. The name is the same, but there are two different papers.

In programming, we use strings a lot, and sometimes we have many strings that are exactly the same. But just like with the pieces of paper, having many copies of the same string can use up a lot of memory.

That's where string interning comes in! Basically, string interning is a way for the computer to keep track of all the strings that are exactly the same and only store one copy of that string.

So instead of having many copies of the same string taking up space in the computer's memory, we just have one copy that can be used every time that string is needed.

Think of it like having a special place to keep all your favorite toys instead of having many boxes all over your room with the same toy. It saves space, and that's what string interning does too!