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Learning Journal 4

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39 views2 pages

LJ4

Learning Journal 4

Uploaded by

Okay F
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Virtual Memory and Garbage Collection in Java

Virtual Memory in Operating Systems:


1. Concept: Virtual memory is a memory management technique used in computer operating
systems. It allows programs to access more memory than is physically available on the computer.
2. How it Works: The operating system divides the computer’s physical memory into fixed-size
blocks called pages. It then maps these pages to virtual addresses that the program can access.
When a program tries to access a virtual address that is not currently in physical memory, the
operating system loads the corresponding page from secondary storage (e.g., hard disk) into
physical memory.
3. Benefits: Virtual memory allows programs to use more memory than is physically available,
provides isolation between processes, and enables efficient memory utilization by swapping
pages in and out of physical memory as needed.

Garbage Collection in Java:


1. Concept: Garbage collection is a memory management mechanism in the Java runtime
environment (JRE) that automatically reclaims memory occupied by objects that are no longer in
use by the program.
2. How it Works: The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) periodically scans the heap (where objects are
stored) to identify objects that are no longer reachable by the program. These unreachable objects
are then marked for collection, and their memory is reclaimed and made available for new object
allocations.
3. Algorithms: Java uses various garbage collection algorithms, with the most common being the
Mark-and-Sweep algorithm. This algorithm first marks all reachable objects, and then sweeps
away (i.e., frees) the unmarked objects.
4. Benefits: Garbage collection in Java provides automatic memory management, reducing the
risk of memory leaks and the need for manual memory management by the developer. It also
simplifies the programming model and allows developers to focus on application logic rather
than low-level memory management.

Comparison and Contrast:


1. Purpose: Virtual memory is a memory management technique used by the operating system,
while garbage collection is a mechanism used by the Java runtime environment to manage
memory within the Java application.
2. Scope: Virtual memory operates at the system level, managing the overall physical memory of
the computer, while garbage collection operates at the application level, managing the memory
within the Java runtime.
3. Granularity: Virtual memory manages memory in fixed-size pages, while garbage collection
manages memory at the object level, reclaiming memory occupied by individual objects that are
no longer in use.
4. Automation: Both virtual memory and garbage collection are automated processes, reducing
the need for manual memory management by the programmer or application developer.
5. Tradeoffs: Virtual memory can introduce some performance overhead due to page swapping,
while garbage collection can also impact performance, especially during major collection cycles.
However, the benefits of these techniques, such as increased memory utilization and simplified
programming models, often outweigh the performance implications.

In summary, virtual memory and garbage collection are complementary memory management
techniques used at different levels of the software stack. Virtual memory provides a foundation
for efficient memory management at the operating system level, while garbage collection
enhances memory management at the application level, specifically within the Java
programming language.

References
1. Gillis, A. S. (2021, July 12). What is virtual memory? TechTarget.
https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/definition/virtual-memory#

2. How garbage collection works in java – Javatpoint. (n.d.). javaTpoint.


https://www.javatpoint.com/how-garbage-collection-works-in-java#

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