How do Java SE 24 features and Project Valhalla's value types and generics specialization improve throughput and memory use in enterprise services?

Explains how inline/value types and unresolved generics reduce GC overhead and improve data throughput in JVM-based systems.

Java SE 24 includes performance-focused JEPs that complement value types, such as optimized object headers, Project Loom enhancements, and microbenchmark-polished array access patterns that enhance core performance. Project Valhalla introduces value types (inline objects) and generic specialization, which eliminate object header overhead and boxing/unboxing when using generics with primitives. This yields up to 2–3× memory footprint reduction and faster cache-local processing on high-throughput microservices handling large data volumes. When integrated with frameworks like Micronaut or Spring Boot with GraalVM AOT, developers see lower GC pauses and faster runtime startup, especially for codebases using List<Integer> or heavily populating arrays of value types.