Garbage Collection in Java: The Performance Benefits of Upgrading

This 43-minute conference talk from JavaOne 2025 explores garbage collection (GC) in Java and the performance advantages of upgrading to newer JDK versions. Dive into the fundamentals of garbage collection, a critical automatic memory management feature that frees Java developers from low-level memory management concerns. Learn about the various GC algorithms available, their key differences, and how selecting the appropriate garbage collector while upgrading from decade-old JDK 8 can significantly reduce overhead and improve application performance. Presented by Stefan Johansson, Principal Member of Technical Staff in Oracle's Java Platform Group, this session provides valuable insights for Java developers looking to optimize memory management in their applications.