Java 17: How to Optimize Memory Usage with Large Collections Using WeakReferences?
I'm sure I'm missing something obvious here, but I'm working on a project and hit a roadblock... I'm working on a Java 17 application where I need to manage a large collection of objects without overwhelming the JVM's memory. I'm currently using an `ArrayList` to store instances of a custom `DataObject` class, but I notice that my application runs out of memory when the list grows too large, even when there are no references to those objects from elsewhere in the code. I've read about using `WeakReference` to allow for garbage collection of objects in collections, but I'm not sure how to implement it correctly. Here’s a simplified version of my current code: ```java import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.List; public class DataManager { private List<DataObject> dataList = new ArrayList<>(); public void addData(DataObject data) { dataList.add(data); } public void processData() { for (DataObject data : dataList) { // Process data } } } ``` When I run this, I get an `OutOfMemoryError` after processing a large number of `DataObject` instances. I tried switching to a `LinkedList`, but the scenario continues. I've also attempted to manually clear the list after processing, but that doesn't seem to prevent the memory issues. Could anyone provide guidance on how to implement `WeakReference` in this scenario to optimize memory usage? I’m not sure how to replace my `ArrayList` while still maintaining the ability to process the data. Any examples or suggestions on best practices would be greatly appreciated! How would you solve this? This issue appeared after updating to Java stable. Any ideas what could be causing this?