Java Memory Management

Course details

By taking the time to learn how memory works in Java, you can avoid introducing problems in your code, as well as more effectively find and fix any memory errors that still occur. In this hands-on course, join instructor Matt Greencroft as he details how memory works in Java. Matt goes over essential concepts such as the roles of the stack and the heap, escaping references, garbage collection, detecting soft leaks, and more. Plus, he lends a real-world context to these concepts by demonstrating how to hunt for—and fix—a memory leak in a sample Java web application. While Matt works with Eclipse and Java 8 throughout the course, the material he covers is valid for any IDE and Java 6 and above.

Learning objectives
How memory works in Java
Passing variables by value
How objects are passed
What are escaping references?
How to avoid escaping references with collections and custom objects
Garbage collection and generation sizes
Detecting soft leaks
Choosing a garbage collector
Tuning a virtual machine
Fixing a memory leak

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Introduction

1. How Memory Works in Java

02 - Why memory is important
03 - The role of the stack
04 - The role of the Heap

2. Values and References

05 - Passing variables by value
06 - How objects are passed
07 - The final keyword
08 - Memory exercise
09 - Exercise walkthrough

3. Escaping References

10 - What are escaping references
11 - An escaping references example
12 - How to avoid escaping references with collections
13 - Avoiding escaping references with custom objects, part 1
14 - Avoiding escaping references with custom objects, part 2
15 - Escaping references exercise
16 - Exercise walkthrough

4. Introduction to Garbage Collection

17 - String pools
18 - Garbage eligibility
19 - The gc() and finalize() methods
20 - Understanding what soft leaks are
21 - Detecting soft leaks

5. Generational Garbage Collection

22 - Mark and sweep
23 - Generational garbage collection
24 - Using the Visual GC tool to view a soft leak
25 - Using the Memory Analyzer tool
26 - PermGen and the Metaspace

6. Tuning the Virtual Machine

27 - Heap size
28 - PermGen size
29 - Garbage collection and generation sizes
30 - Generating heap dumps
31 - Choosing a garbage collector

7. Hunting for a Memory Leak

32 - Introducing the example application
33 - Monitoring the application
34 - Fixing a memory leak

Conclusion

35 - Course summary