How does the garbage collector work in managed programming languages? How are objects deleted?

Garbage Collector in managed programming languages operates on the principle of automatic memory management: it tracks objects that are no longer used by the program and frees the memory they occupy.

The main method of the garbage collector is to detect reachable and unreachable objects. Usually, a graph traversal algorithm is used from root references (such as local variables, static fields). Objects that are not reachable from the roots are considered unreachable and are subject to deletion.

In Android (Java/Kotlin), the garbage collector is based on a generational approach, where objects are divided into generations (young, old). Young objects are checked more frequently and are quickly removed, as most objects do not live long. This increases efficiency and reduces pauses in the application's operation.