Difference Between Heap and Stack: Java - Lang.Outofmemoryerror: Java Heap Space

Difference between Heap and stack
Based on the above explanations, we can easily conclude following differences between Heap and
Stack memory.
1. Heap memory is used by all the parts of the application whereas stack memory is used only
by one thread of execution.
2. Whenever an object is created, it’s always stored in the Heap space and stack memory
contains the reference to it. Stack memory only contains local primitive variables and
reference variables to objects in heap space.
3. Objects stored in the heap are globally accessible whereas stack memory can’t be accessed
by other threads.
4. Memory management in stack is done in LIFO manner whereas it’s more complex in Heap
memory because it’s used globally. Heap memory is divided into Young-Generation, Old-
Generation etc.
5. Stack memory is short-lived whereas heap memory lives from the start till the end of
application execution.
6. We can use -Xms and -Xmx JVM option to define the startup size and maximum size of heap
memory. We can use -Xss to define the stack memory size.
7. When stack memory is full, Java runtime throws java.lang.StackOverFlowError whereas if

heap memory is full, it throws java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java Heap Space error.
8. Stack memory size is very less when compared to Heap memory. Because of simplicity in
memory allocation (LIFO), stack memory is very fast when compared to heap memory.
That’s all for Java Heap Space vs Stack Memory in terms of java application, I hope it will clear your
doubts regarding memory allocation when any java program is executed.
Java (JVM) Memory Model
As you can see in the above image, JVM memory is divided into separate parts. At broad level, JVM
Heap memory is physically divided into two parts – Young Generation and Old Generation.
Memory Management in Java – Young Generation
Young generation is the place where all the new objects are created. When young generation is
filled, garbage collection is performed. This garbage collection is called Minor GC. Young Generation
is divided into three parts – Eden Memory and two Survivor Memory spaces.
Important Points about Young Generation Spaces:
 Most of the newly created objects are located in the Eden memory space.
 When Eden space is filled with objects, Minor GC is performed and all the survivor objects
are moved to one of the survivor spaces.
 Minor GC also checks the survivor objects and move them to the other survivor space. So at
a time, one of the survivor space is always empty.
 Objects that are survived after many cycles of GC, are moved to the Old generation memory
space. Usually it’s done by setting a threshold for the age of the young generation objects
before they become eligible to promote to Old generation.
Memory Management in Java – Old Generation
Old Generation memory contains the objects that are long lived and survived after many rounds of
Minor GC. Usually garbage collection is performed in Old Generation memory when it’s full. Old
Generation Garbage Collection is called Major GC and usually takes longer time.
Stop the World Event
All the Garbage Collections are “Stop the World” events because all application threads are stopped
until the operation completes.
Since Young generation keeps short-lived objects, Minor GC is very fast and the application doesn’t
get affected by this.
However Major GC takes longer time because it checks all the live objects. Major GC should be
minimized because it will make your application unresponsive for the garbage collection duration. So
if you have a responsive application and there are a lot of Major Garbage Collection happening, you
will notice timeout errors.
The duration taken by garbage collector depends on the strategy used for garbage collection. That’s
why it’s necessary to monitor and tune the garbage collector to avoid timeouts in the highly
responsive applications.
Java Memory Model – Permanent Generation
Permanent Generation or “Perm Gen” contains the application metadata required by the JVM to
describe the classes and methods used in the application. Note that Perm Gen is not part of Java
Heap memory.
Perm Gen is populated by JVM at runtime based on the classes used by the application. Perm Gen
also contains Java SE library classes and methods. Perm Gen objects are garbage collected in a full
garbage collection.
Java Memory Model – Method Area
Method Area is part of space in the Perm Gen and used to store class structure (runtime constants
and static variables) and code for methods and constructors.
Java Memory Model – Memory Pool
Memory Pools are created by JVM memory managers to create a pool of immutable objects, if
implementation supports it. String Pool is a good example of this kind of memory pool. Memory Pool
can belong to Heap or Perm Gen, depending on the JVM memory manager implementation.
Java Memory Model – Runtime Constant Pool
Runtime constant pool is per-class runtime representation of constant pool in a class. It contains
class runtime constants and static methods. Runtime constant pool is the part of method area.
Java Memory Model – Java Stack Memory
Java Stack memory is used for execution of a thread. They contain method specific values that are
short-lived and references to other objects in the heap that are getting referred from the method.
You should read Difference between Stack and Heap Memory.
Memory Management in Java – Java Heap Memory Switches
Java provides a lot of memory switches that we can use to set the memory sizes and their ratios.
Some of the commonly used memory switches are:

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Difference between Heap and stack

7. When stack memory is full, Java runtime throws java.lang.StackOverFlowError whereas if

Memory Management in Java – Young Generation

Important Points about Young Generation Spaces:

Memory Management in Java – Old Generation

Stop the World Event

Java Memory Model – Permanent Generation

Java Memory Model – Method Area

Java Memory Model – Memory Pool

Java Memory Model – Runtime Constant Pool

Java Memory Model – Java Stack Memory

Memory Management in Java – Java Heap Memory Switches

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