Question

Foo a;

try
{
 // some work with a;
}
finally
{
 a = null;
}

In this example, we mark object a for garbage collection.

Now suppose, we modify the code like this.

public  xyz()
{
 return new Foo();
}

Now in this example, the newly created object has no name, so when will it be marked for collection ? Or GC will automatically determine that it has no use, so it will try to recover it ?

EDIT :

After reading the answer, I am adding one more situation.

Foo a;

try
{     
  return a;
}
finally
{
 a = null;
}

Now what will happen ?

Answer 1

if the caller of xyz assigns the result to something, then it will stick around, otherwise it will be GC’d eventually. Just need something to hold on to a reference for the object to survive GC.