Presentation: "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Java Garbage Collection But Were Afraid to Ask"

Time: Tuesday 15:30 - 16:30

Location: Salon C

Abstract:
Garbage Collection is an integral part of application behavior on Java platforms, yet it is often misunderstood. As such, it is important for Java developers to understand the actions you can take in selecting and tuning collector mechanisms, as well as in your application architecture choices.

In this presentation, Gil Tene (CTO, Azul Systems) reviews and classifies the various garbage collectors and collection techniques available in JVMs today. Following a quick overview of common garbage collection techniques including generational, parallel, stop-the-world, incremental, concurrent and mostly-concurrent algorithms, he defines terms and metrics common to all collectors. He classifies each major JVM collector's mechanisms and characteristics and discuss the tradeoffs involved in balancing requirements for responsiveness, throughput, space, and available memory across varying scale levels. Gil concludes with some pitfalls, common misconceptions, and ""myths"" around garbage collection behavior, as well as examples of how some good choices can result in impressive application behaviour

Gil Tene, Azul Systems

 Gil  Tene

Gil Tene is CTO and co-founder of Azul Systems. He has been involved with virtual machine technologies for the past 20 years and has been building Java technology-based products since 1995. Gil pioneered Azul's Continuously Concurrent Compacting Collector (C4), Java Virtualization, Elastic Memory, and various managed runtime and systems stack technologies that combine to deliver the industry's most scalable and robust Java platforms.

In 2006 he was named one of the Top 50 Agenda Setters in the technology industry by Silicon.com. Prior to co-founding Azul, Gil held key technology positions at Nortel Networks, Shasta Networks and at Check Point Software Technologies, where he delivered several industry-leading traffic management solutions including the industry's first Firewall-1 based security appliance. He architected operating systems for Stratus Computer, clustering solutions at Qualix/Legato, and served as an officer in the Israeli Navy Computer R and D unit. Gil holds a BSEE from The Technion Israel Institute of Technology, and has been awarded 27 patents in computer-related technologies.  

Twitter: @giltene