Manual Memory Deallocation vs. Garbage Collection in Java

Unlike in C, Java employs a managed memory framework where memory allocation and deallocation are handled automatically by the garbage collector (GC). This automated approach promotes better memory utilization and prevents memory leaks that can plague C programs.

Can Memory Be Freed Manually in Java?

Since Java's memory management is managed by the GC, it does not provide an explicit method like free() in C for manually deallocating memory. Instead, developers must rely on setting references to objects to null and leaving the GC to reclaim the memory.

How Does Garbage Collection Work?

The Java GC operates in a background thread, tracking objects and determining which ones are eligible for collection. When an object is no longer referenced by any active variables or is unreachable from the root object, it becomes a garbage candidate. The GC then schedules these objects for deletion and reclaims their associated memory to make it available for reuse.

Does System.gc() Force Garbage Collection?

While setting objects to null is the primary means of managing memory in Java, the System.gc() method can be called to prompt the GC to run immediately. However, it's important to note that this is merely a suggestion, and the Java Runtime Environment ultimately decides when to execute the GC based on memory usage and other factors.