Optimize memory usage of a collection of Strings in Java

Question

I have a large number of name - value pairs (approx 100k) that I need to store in some sort of cache (say a hash map) where the value is a string with an average of about 30

Answer 1

Do you actually need Strings, or do you just need any old CharSequence? If not, then consider implementing a "compact" CharSequence such as the one I suggest in the link.