The Shenandoah garbage collector (GC) is a low-latency garbage collector that is available as an experimental feature in OpenJDK. It aims to reduce pause times for garbage collection and improve overall application performance. In this blog post, we will discuss the compatibility of Shenandoah GC with different Java versions.

Java 12 and later versions

Starting from Java 12, Shenandoah GC is included as an experimental feature in OpenJDK. This means that you can enable and use Shenandoah GC in Java 12 and later versions by passing the -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions and -XX:+UseShenandoahGC flags to the Java virtual machine (JVM) at runtime.

However, it is important to note that Shenandoah GC is still considered an experimental feature in Java 12 and later versions, which means that it may not be as stable or performant as the other GC options available. It is recommended to thoroughly test your application with Shenandoah GC enabled before deploying it in production.

Java 11 and earlier versions

Shenandoah GC is not available in Java 11 and earlier versions of OpenJDK. If you are using Java 11 or an earlier version, you will need to upgrade to a newer version to take advantage of Shenandoah GC.

Conclusion

Shenandoah GC is a valuable option for reducing pause times in garbage collection and improving application performance. While it is included as an experimental feature in Java 12 and later versions, it is important to thoroughly test and evaluate its performance before deploying it in production. If you are using an older version of Java, you will need to upgrade to a version that supports Shenandoah GC.

For more information on Shenandoah GC and its compatibility with different Java versions, you can refer to the official OpenJDK documentation and the Shenandoah GC project page.

#Java #ShenandoahGC