Deleting an object in java?

Question

I want to delete an object I created, (a oval which follows you), but how would I do this?

delete follower1; 

didn't work.

EDIT:

Okay, I'll give some more context. I'm making a small game with a oval you can control, and a oval which follows you. Now I've got files named: DrawPanel.class, this class draws everything on the screen, and handles collisions, sounds, etc. I got an enemy.class, which is the oval following the player. I got an entity.class, which is the player you can control. And if the player intersects with the follower, I want my player object to get deleted. The way I'm doing it:

    public void checkCollisions(){     if(player.getBounds().intersects(follower1.getBounds())){         Follower1Alive = false;         player.health = player.health - 10;     } } 

Answer 1

You should remove the references to it by assigning null or leaving the block where it was declared. After that, it will be automatically deleted by the garbage collector (not immediately, but eventually).

Example 1:

Object a = new Object(); a = null; // after this, if there is no reference to the object,           // it will be deleted by the garbage collector 

Example 2:

if (something) {     Object o = new Object();  } // as you leave the block, the reference is deleted.   // Later on, the garbage collector will delete the object itself. 

Not something that you are currently looking for, but FYI: you can invoke the garbage collector with the call System.gc()

Answer 2

Your C++ is showing.

There is no delete in java, and all objects are created on the heap. The JVM has a garbage collector that relies on reference counts.

Once there are no more references to an object, it becomes available for collection by the garbage collector.

myObject = null may not do it; for example:

Foo myObject = new Foo(); // 1 reference Foo myOtherObject = myObject; // 2 references myObject = null; // 1 reference 

All this does is set the reference myObject to null, it does not affect the object myObject once pointed to except to simply decrement the reference count by 1. Since myOtherObject still refers to that object, it is not yet available to be collected.