Setting local reference variables to null to "help the garbage collector" is unnecessary. It adds clutter to the code and can make maintenance difficult. Java just-in-time compilers (JITs) can perform an equivalent liveness analysis; in fact, and most implementations do so.
A related bad practice is use of a finalizer to null out references. See MET12-J. Do not use finalizers for additional details.
This guideline applies specifically to local variables. For a case where explicitly erasing objects is useful, see OBJ55-JG49. Remove short-lived objects from long-lived container objects.
Noncompliant Code Example
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This compliant solution uses a lexical block to control the scope, and consequently the lifetime , of the buffer object:
| Code Block | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
{ // Limit the scope of buffer
int[] buffer = new int[100];
doSomething(buffer);
}
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