Garbage collection in Java is the process by which Java programs perform automatic memory management. Java objects are created on the heap, which is a section of memory dedicated to a program. When objects are no longer needed, the garbage collector finds and tracks these unused objects and deletes them to free up space. Without garbage collection, the heap would eventually run out of memory, leading to a runtime OutOfMemoryError. Garbage collection is a key feature for developers who build and compile Java programs on a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) .
Java garbage collection is an automatic process, meaning that the programmer does not need to explicitly mark objects to be deleted. The garbage collection implementation lives in the JVM, and every JVM can implement garbage collection however it pleases, as long as it meets the JVM specification. There are many JVMs, but Oracles HotSpot is the most common and offers a robust and mature set of garbage collection options.
In summary, garbage collection in Java is the automated process of deleting code that's no longer needed or used, which automatically frees up memory space and ideally makes coding Java apps easier for developers.
