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JVM Memory

 
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My application, which deals with large data sets, is throwing a java.lang.OutOfMemoryError error.

From what I've read on the web it looks like I need to increase of the memory of the JVM. I've read I can use the -Xmx command.

Can someone confirm if this is the command I should use, and what a 'reasonable' size to increase it to is?

i.e. -Xmx256m, is that reasonable?

Thanks,

Mike
 
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Yes, -Xmx sets the maximum size of the JVM (The default value is 64MB).
The "reasonable" size is determined by the requirements of your program (don't set to a gig if you only need 256MB) as well as the physical RAM on your machine.
Java Command Documentation
 
Mike Rolf
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Thanks Joe, one more question how would I go about working out how much memory my app needs? At the moment all I'm seeing is an OutOfMemoryError.

Mike
 
Joe Ess
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You could just keep increasing -Xmx until the program works. If there's no major changes to the data sets or code, you should be fine.
Java has built in tools to monitor resources so you should be able to get an idea as to how much is being used and if the -Xmx setting is way out of line.
 
Mike Rolf
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I just went for the trial & error approach and kept increasing the size of the memory until it worked. I now have it set to 512Mb and my application seems to work fine.

Thanks for your help Joe.
 
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