Well, looking at the source code, release() should free up the value.
But it looks like release is only called when a tag is culled from the tag pool. At the end of the page, tags are returned to the pool, but they don't seem to be released.
I think they're released when the pool evicts the tag, or when the container shuts down and destroys the pool.
This is what I found in the specs:
"public void release()
Called on a Tag handler to release state. The page compiler guarantees that
JSP page implementation objects will invoke this method on all tag handlers,
but there may be multiple invocations on doStartTag and doEndTag in
between."
So, GF IS in compliance with the spec. All this says is the page compiler guarantees that release will at SOME POINT be called, but not necessarily for every page.
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