Journey from Creation to Destruction of a Java Object

Amandeep Singh
3 min readMay 22, 2023

A Java object is a data structure that encapsulates both data and behavior. The data is stored in the object’s fields, and the behavior is implemented in the object’s methods.

Objects are created using the new keyword. When an object is created, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) allocates memory for the object on the heap. The heap is a region of memory that is used to store objects that are created by the Java program.

The state of an object is represented by its fields. Fields can be of primitive types, such as int or double, or they can be of reference types, such as String or Object.

The behavior of an object is represented by its methods. Methods are used to manipulate the object’s state. Methods can be public, private, or protected. Public methods can be called from anywhere, while private methods can only be called from within the object’s class. Protected methods can be called from within the object’s class and from classes that extend the object’s class.

Objects can be used to represent real-world entities, such as cars, people, or animals. Objects can also be used to represent abstract concepts, such as numbers, strings, or lists.

Object Creation:

When a Java object is created, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) allocates memory for the object on the heap. The heap is a region of memory that is used to store objects that are created by the Java program. The size of the heap is determined by the JVM, and it can be changed by using the -Xmx command-line option.

The JVM creates an object by calling the constructor for the object’s class. The constructor is a special method that is used to initialize the object’s state. The constructor is called when the object is created, and it is called only once.

The following code shows how to create a Java object:

// Create a new object of the `MyClass` class.
MyClass myObject = new MyClass();

The MyClass class has a constructor that takes no arguments. The constructor is called when the myObject variable is created, and it initializes the myObject object's state.

Object Destruction:

When a Java object is no longer needed, it is destroyed by the garbage collector. The garbage collector is a process that runs in the JVM to manage memory. The garbage collector tracks all of the objects that are created by the Java program, and it destroys objects that are no longer referenced by any other object.

The garbage collector is a complex process, and it is not always possible to predict when an object will be destroyed. However, there are some things that you can do to help the garbage collector to do its job more efficiently.

One thing that you can do is to avoid creating objects that are no longer needed. For example, if you create a temporary object to hold some data, you should make sure to delete the object when you are finished with it.

Another thing that you can do is to avoid creating objects that are circularly referenced. A circular reference is a situation where two objects refer to each other. For example, if you have a MyObject object that refers to a MyOtherObject object, and the MyOtherObject object refers back to the MyObject object, then you have a circular reference.

Circular references can be difficult for the garbage collector to handle, and they can cause memory leaks. To avoid circular references, you should make sure that objects do not refer to each other in a circular way.

If you want to learn Core Java from the beginning and that too without any cost, do checkout below Playlists:

Core Java

Spring Framework

Java 8

Java Interview Preparation

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Amandeep Singh
Amandeep Singh

Written by Amandeep Singh

Love Programming & Love to Share the Knowledge with Others

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