Does using final for variables in Java improve garbage collection?

Question

Today my colleagues and me have a discussion about the usage of the final keyword in Java to improve the garbage collection.

For example, if you write a

Answer 1

Some points to clear up:

• Nulling out reference should not help GC. If it did, it would indicate that your variables are over scoped. One exception is the case of object nepotism.

• There is no on-stack allocation as of yet in Java.

• Declaring a variable final means you can't (under normal conditions) assign a new value to that variable. Since final says nothing about scope, it doesn't say anything about it's effect on GC.