How can I create a memory leak in Java?

Question

I just had an interview, and I was asked to create a memory leak with Java.

Needless to say, I felt pretty dumb having no clue on how to eve

Answer 1

Here's a simple/sinister one via http://wiki.eclipse.org/Performance_Bloopers#String.substring.28.29.

public class StringLeaker
{
    private final String muchSmallerString;

    public StringLeaker()
    {
        // Imagine the whole Declaration of Independence here
        String veryLongString = "We hold these truths to be self-evident...";

        // The substring here maintains a reference to the internal char[]
        // representation of the original string.
        this.muchSmallerString = veryLongString.substring(0, 1);
    }
}

Because the substring refers to the internal representation of the original, much longer string, the original stays in memory. Thus, as long as you have a StringLeaker in play, you have the whole original string in memory, too, even though you might think you're just holding on to a single-character string.

The way to avoid storing an unwanted reference to the original string is to do something like this:

...
this.muchSmallerString = new String(veryLongString.substring(0, 1));
...

For added badness, you might also .intern() the substring:

...
this.muchSmallerString = veryLongString.substring(0, 1).intern();
...

Doing so will keep both the original long string and the derived substring in memory even after the StringLeaker instance has been discarded.