finalize doubt

[Chandra Bhatt]

 
Question 8
 
class A {
  private String name;
  private A otherA;
  public A(String name) {this.name = name;}
  public void other(A otherA) {this.otherA = otherA;}
  public A other() {return otherA;}
  public String toString() {return name;}
  protected void finalize() {System.out.print(name);}
}
class B {
  public static void m1() {
    A a1 = new A("A1"), a2 = new A("A2"), a3 = new A("A3"), a0 = a3;
    a1.other(a2); a2.other(a3); a3.other(a1);
    for(int i = 0; i<4; i++){System.out.print(a0 = a0.other());}
  }
  public static void main(String[] args) {m1(); System.gc();}
}
 
Which of the following could be a result of attempting to compile and run the program?
a. A1A2A3A1
b. A0A0A0A0A1A2A3
c. A1A2A3A1A2A3
d. A1A2A3A1A1A2A3
e. A1A2A3A1A3A2A1
f. A0A1A2A3A1A2A3

Given answers are a,c,d,e

I suspect the behavior of finalize...
How the things are happening here?



Please help!!!


Regards,
cmbhatt

[swarna dasa]

We really dont know if the GC does run, so Ans a) gets there.

As is evident, the answer is not predictable after A1A2A3A1.
The garbage collector could pick up the objects from the heap in any order.
So there is no right answer, but acde are possible answers.

Since GC is a daemon thread, it has a very small window when it can run, as the main method exits right after that statement.