Chapter 17. Garbage Collection and Memory
Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessaries. | ||
| --Mark Twain | ||
The Java virtual machine uses a technique known as garbage collection to determine when an object is no longer referenced within a program, and so can be safely reclaim466466ed to free up memory space. This chapter teaches the basic ideas behind garbage collection, how the programmer can be involved in the garbage collection process, and how special reference objects can be used to influence when an object may be considered garbage.
Garbage Collection
Objects are created with new, but there is no corresponding delete operation to reclaim the memory used by an object. When you are finished with an object, you simply stop ...
Get THE Java™ Programming Language, Fourth Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
