Can the JVM GC move objects in the middle of a reference comparison, causing a comparison to fail even when both sides refer to the same object?

Question

It\'s well known that GCs will sometimes move objects around in memory. And it\'s to my understanding that as long as all references are updated when the object is moved (before

Answer 1

TL;DR

You should not think about that kind of stuff what so ever, It's a dark place. Java has clearly stated out it's specifications and you should not doubt it, ever.

2.7. Representation of Objects

The Java Virtual Machine does not mandate any particular internal structure for objects.

Source: JVMS SE8.

I doubt it! If you may doubt this very basic operator you may find yourself doubt everything else, getting frustrated and paranoid with trust issues is not the place you want to be.

What if it happens to me? Such a bug should not be existed. The Oracle discussion you supplied reporting a bug that happened years ago and somehow discussion OP decided to pop that up for no reason, either without reliable documentation of such bug existed now days. However, if such bug or any others has occurred to you, please submit it here.

To let your worries go away, Java has adjusted the pointer to pointer approach into the JVM pointer table, you can read more about it's efficenty here.