Final answer:
The memory management process that automatically handles most situations in computer programming is known as 'Garbage Collection'. This process runs in the background and helps prevent common problems such as memory leaks by reclaiming memory that is no longer in use.
Step-by-step explanation:
The memory management process that is automatic and typically handles most situations of memory management is known as 'Garbage Collection'. Most modern programming languages include a garbage collector as part of their runtime environment. Garbage collection automatically reclaims memory that is no longer in use by the program, such as objects that are no longer reachable due to the absence of references to them.
Despite its automatic nature, garbage collection is a type of memory management process that runs in the background. It is distinct from manual memory management where the programmer must explicitly allocate and deallocate memory. In languages like C and C++, manual memory management is used, while languages like Python, Java, and .NET languages rely on garbage collection for automatic memory management.
Garbage collection aims to simplify the programming process by relieving developers from having to track memory usage and to prevent common problems such as memory leaks and dangling pointers. However, understanding how and when garbage collection occurs can still be important for writing efficient code, as the process itself can be resource-intensive and affect the performance of an application.