Why is the finalize() method in java.lang.Object “protected”?

Question

Out of curiosity,

Why is the finalize() method\'s access modifier is made as protected. Why cant it be public? Can someone exp

Answer 1

Also, I came to know that finalize() method is called only once. If i call it twice in my program, internally what is happening?

You probably ask this under impression of C++ ~destructors. In java finalize () method doesn't do any magic (like clearing memory). It's supposed to be called by garbage collector. But not vice versa.

I recommend you to read correspondent chapter in Joshua Bloch's "Effective Java". It says that using finalizers is a bad practice and can cause performance and other issues, and there are only several cases when they should be used. The chapter begins with next words:

Finalizers are unpredictable, often dangerous, and generally unnecessary.