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

The interviewer might have be looking for a circular reference solution:

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        while (true) {
            Element first = new Element();
            first.next = new Element();
            first.next.next = first;
        }
    }

This is a classic problem with reference counting garbage collectors. You would then politely explain that JVMs use a much more sophisticated algorithm that doesn't have this limitation.

-Wes Tarle