Reclaiming garbage and education: Java memory leaks
Adair Dingle · Journal of computing sciences in colleges · 2004
The language wars continue: seasoned educators debate the merits and demerits of different languages, especially with respect to teaching CS1; students demand instruction on specific skills, in anticipation of job demands. Java is welcomed by educators because it skirts the complex topic of memory management. Yet Java memory leaks do occur, causing significant performance degradation and failure. Underlying the problem of Java memory leaks is a poor understanding of background tasks such as memory management and the imperfect process of garbage collection. Educators do a disservice to their students when they fail to examine language implementation details. Regardless of the language chosen, introductory courses should cover memory management concepts in sufficient detail. Only then can students recognize software design factors that impact correctness and performance.