What is the role of garbage collector in memory management in Java?

The Garbage Collector (GC) in Java is responsible for automatic memory management, freeing objects that are no longer used by the program. This allows developers not to worry about manual memory deallocation, reducing the risk of leaks and errors.

In Android, GC is especially important because mobile devices have limited resources. The garbage collector periodically scans the heap, finds objects without references, and frees the memory they occupy.

The process roughly looks like this:

• Objects are created in the heap.
• When an object becomes unreachable (no references to it), it is considered a candidate for collection.
• GC runs and frees the memory of such objects.

It is important to optimize memory management to minimize the frequency and duration of GC work, as it can affect application performance and UI responsiveness.