In Computer programming , if we assign a value to a local variable, but the value is not read by any subsequent instruction, then it's called a Dead Store .
Java example of a Dead Store:
// DeadStoreExample.java
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class DeadStoreExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>(); // Dead Store here.
list = getList();
System.out.println(list);
}
private static List<String> getList() {
// Some intense operation and finally we return a java.util.List
return new ArrayList<String>();
}
}
In the above code a List<String> object was created but was never used. Instead, in the next line the reference variable is pointing to some other object in the heap. The object created on line number 6 is never used and hence it's a dead store.