java(1)

ands Manual

General Comm
java(1)

Name
java - the Java application launcher
SYNOPSIS
java [ options ] class [ argument ... ]
java [ options ] -jar file.jar [ argument ... ]
options
Command-line options. See Options.
class
The name of the class to be called.
file.jar
The name of the JAR file to be called. Used only with the -jar comm
and.
argument
The arguments passed to the main function.
DESCRIPTION
The java command starts a Java application. It does this by starting
a Java runtime environment, loading a specified class, and calling that class's
main method.
The method must be declared public and static, it must not return any val
ue, and it must accept a String array as a parameter. The method declaration
has the following form:
public static void main(String args[])
By default, the first argument without an option is the name of the clas
s to be called. A fully qualified class name should be used. If the -jar option
is specified, then the first non-option argument is the name of a JAR fil
e containing class and resource files for the application, with the startup
class indicated by the Main-Class manifest header.
The Java runtime searches for the startup class, and other classes used,
in three sets of locations: the bootstrap class path, the installed extensions,
and the user class path.
Non-option arguments after the class name or JAR file name are passed to
the main function.
OPTIONS
The launcher has a set of standard options that are supported in the curr
ent runtime environment.
In addition, the current implementations of the virtual machines support
a set of nonstandard options that are subject to change in future releases. See
Nonstandard Options.

Standard Options
-client
Selects the Java HotSpot Client VM. A 64-bit capable JDK currently
ignores this option and instead uses the Java Hotspot Server VM.
For default Java VM selection, see Server-Class Machine Detection a
t http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/vm/server-class.html
-server
Selects the Java HotSpot Server VM. On a 64-bit capable JDK, only t
he Java Hotspot Server VM is supported so the -server option is implicit.
For default a Java VM selection, see Server-Class Machine Detection
at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/vm/server-class.html
-agentlib:libname[=options]
Loads native agent library libname, for example:
-agentlib:hprof
-agentlib:jdwp=help
-agentlib:hprof=help
See JVMTI Agent Command-Line Options at http://docs.oracle.com/java
se/7/docs/platform/jvmti/jvmti.html#starting

JVMTI

-agentpath:pathname[=options]
Loads a native agent library by full pathname. See
Command-Line Options at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/plat
form/jvmti/jvmti.html#starting

-classpath classpath, -cp classpath

Specifies a list of directories, JAR files, and ZIP archives to sea
rch for class files. Separate class path entries with colons (:). Specifying
-classpath or -cp overrides any setting of the CLASSPATH environmen
t variable.
If -classpath and -cp are not used and CLASSPATH is not set, then t
he user class path consists of the current directory (.).
As a special convenience, a class path element that contains a b
ase name of * is considered equivalent to specifying a list of all the files in
the directory with the extension .jar or .JAR. A Java program canno
t tell the difference between the two invocations.
For example, if directory mydir contains a.jar and b.JAR, then the
class path element mydir/* is expanded to a A.jar:b.JAR, except that the order
of jar files is unspecified. All jar files in the specified direc
tory, even hidden ones, are included in the list. A class path entry consisting
simply of * expands to a list of all the jar files in the current d
irectory. The CLASSPATH environment variable, where defined, will be similarly
expanded. Any class path wildcard expansion occurs before the Jav
a VM is started. No Java program will ever see wild cards that are not expanded
except by querying the environment. For example, by calling System.
getenv("CLASSPATH").
-Dproperty=value
Sets a system property value.
-d32
Run the application in a 32-bit environment. If a 32-bit environmen
t is not installed or is not supported, an error will be reported. By default,
the application is run in a 32-bit environment unless a 64-bit only
system is used.
-d64

Run the application in a 64-bit environment. If a 64-bit environme

nt is not installed or is not supported, an error will be reported. By default,
the application is run in a 32-bit environment unless a 64-bit only
system is used.
Currently only the Java HotSpot Server VM supports 64-bit operation
, and the -server option is implicit with the use of -d64. The -client option
is ignored with the use of -d64. This is subject to change in a fut
ure release.
-disableassertions[:package name"..." | :class name ], -da[:package na
me"..." | :class name ]
Disable assertions. This is the default.
With no arguments, -disableassertions or -da disables assertions.
With one argument ending in "...", the switch disables assertions in the speci
fied package and any subpackages. If the argument is "...", then th
e switch disables assertions in the unnamed package in the current working
directory. With one argument not ending in "...", the switch disabl
es assertions in the specified class.
To run a program with assertions enabled in package com.wombat.fru
itbat but disabled in class com.wombat.fruitbat.Brickbat, the following command
could be used:
java -ea:com.wombat.fruitbat... -da:com.wombat.fruitbat.Brickbat <M
ain Class>
The -disableassertions and -da switches apply to all class loaders
and to system classes (which do not have a class loader). There is one excep
tion to this rule: in their no-argument form, the switches do not a
pply to system. This makes it easy to turn on asserts in all classes except for
system classes. The -disablesystemassertions option provides a sepa
rate swith to enable assertions in all system classes.
-enableassertions[:package name"..." | :class name ], -ea[:package nam
e"..." | :class name ]
Enable assertions. Assertions are disabled by default.
With no arguments, -enableassertions or -ea enables assertions. Wit
h one argument ending in "...", the switch enables assertions in the specified
package and any subpackages. If the argument is "...", then the swi
tch enables assertions in the unnamed package in the current working directory.
With one argument not ending in "...", the switch enables assertion
s in the specified class.
If a single command contains multiple instances of these switches,
then they are processed in order before loading any classes. So, for example,
to run a program with assertions enabled only in package com.wombat
.fruitbat (and any subpackages), the following command could be used:
java -ea:com.wombat.fruitbat... <Main Class>
The -enableassertions and -ea switches apply to all class loaders a
nd to system classes (which do not have a class loader). There is one exception
to this rule: in their no-argument form, the switches do not apply
to system. This makes it easy to turn on asserts in all classes except for sys
tem classes. The -enablesystemassertions option provides a separate
switch to enable assertions in all system classes.
-enablesystemassertions, -esa
Enable assertions in all system classes (sets the default assertion
status for system classes to true).
-disablesystemassertions, -dsa
Disables assertions in all system classes.
-help or -?
Displays usage information and exit.

-jar
Executes a program encapsulated in a JAR file. The first argumen
t is the name of a JAR file instead of a startup class name. For this option to
work, the manifest of the JAR file must contain a line in the form
Main-Class: classname. Here, classname identifies the class with the public
static void main(String[] args) method that serves as your applicat
ion's starting point.
When you use this option, the JAR file is the source of all user cl
asses, and other user class path settings are ignored.
JAR files that can be run with the java -jar option can have th
eir execute permissions set so they can be run without using java -jar. See JAR
File Overview at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/gui
des/jar/jarGuide.html
-javaagent:jarpath[=options]
Loads a Java programming language agent. For more information about
instrumenting Java applications, see the java.lang.instrument package descrip
tion in the Java API documentation at
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/instrument/packa
ge-summary.html @
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/instrument/packa
ge-summary.html
-jre-restrict-search
Includes user-private JREs in the version search.
-no-jre-restrict-search
Excludes user-private JREs in the version search.
-showversion
Displays version information and continues.
-splash:imagepath
Shows splash screen with image specified by imagepath.
-verbose, -verbose:class
Displays information about each class loaded.
-verbose:gc
Reports on each garbage collection event.
-verbose:jni
Reports information about use of native methods and other Java Nati
ve Interface activity.
-version
Displays version information and exits. See also the -showversion o
ption.
-version:release
Specifies that the version specified by the release is required by
the class or JAR file specified on the command line. If the version of the java
command called does not meet this specification and an appropriate
implementation is found on the system, then the appropriate implementation will
be used.
The release option specifies an exact version and a list of version
s called a version string. A version string is an ordered list of version
ranges separated by spaces. A version range is either a version-id,
a version-id followed by an asterisk (*), a version-id followed by a plus sign

(+), or a version range that consists of two version-ids combined u

sing an ampersand (&). The asterisk means prefix match, the plus sign means
this version or greater, and the ampersand means the logical and of
the two version-ranges, for example:
-version:"1.6.0_13 1.6*&1.6.0_10+"
The meaning of the previous example is that the class or JAR file r
equires either version 1.6.0_13, or a version with 1.6 as a version-id prefix
and that is not less than 1.6.0_10. The exact syntax and definition
of version strings can be found in Appendix A of the Java Network Launching
Protocol & API Specification (JSR-56).
For JAR files, the preference is to specify version requirements in
the JAR file manifest rather than on the command line.
See Notes for important policy information on the use of this optio
n.
Non-Standard Options
-X Displays information about nonstandard options and exits.
-Xint
Operates in interpreted-only mode. Compilation to native code is di
sabled, and all bytecode is executed by the interpreter. The performance bene
fits offered by the Java HotSpot Client VM adaptive compiler is not
present in this mode.
-Xbatch
Disables background compilation. Typically, the Java VM compiles th
e method as a background task, running the method in interpreter mode until the
background compilation is finished. The -Xbatch flag disables backg
round compilation so that compilation of all methods proceeds as a foreground
task until completed.
-Xbootclasspath:bootclasspath
Specifies a colon-separated list of directories, JAR files, and ZIP
archives to search for boot class files. These are used in place of the boot
class files included in the Java platform JDK.
Applications that use this option for the purpose of overriding a c
lass in rt.jar should not be deployed because doing so would contravene the
Java Runtime Environment binary code license.
-Xbootclasspath/a:path
Specifies a colon-separated path of directories, JAR files, and ZIP
archives to append to the default bootstrap class path.
-Xbootclasspath/p:path
Specifies a colon-separated path of directories, JAR files, and ZIP
archives to add in front of the default bootstrap class path.
Do not deploy applications that use this option to override a class
in rt.jar because this violates the Java Runtime Environment binary code
license.
-Xcheck:jni
Performs additional checks for Java Native Interface (JNI) function
s. Specifically, the Java Virtual Machine validates the parameters passed to
the JNI function and the runtime environment data before processing
the JNI request. Any invalid data encountered indicates a problem in the
native code, and the Java Virtual Machine will terminate with a fat
al error in such cases. Expect a performance degradation when this option is
used.

-Xfuture
Performs strict class-file format checks. For backward compatibilit
y, the default format checks performed by the Java virtual machine are no
stricter than the checks performed by 1.1.x versions of the JDK sof
tware. The -Xfuture option turns on stricter class-file format checks that
enforce closer conformance to the class-file format specification.
Developers are encouraged to use this flag when developing new code because the
stricter checks will become the default in future releases of the J
ava application launcher.
-Xnoclassgc
Disables class garbage collection. Use of this option preven memory
recovery from loaded classes thus increasing overall memory usage. This could
cause OutOfMemoryError to be thrown in some applications.
-Xincgc
Enables the incremental garbage collector. The incremental garbage
collector, which is turned off by default, will reduce the occasional long
garbage-collection pauses during program execution. The incremental
garbage collector will at times execute concurrently with the program and dur
ing such times will reduce the processor capacity available to the
program.
-Xloggc:file
Reports on each garbage collection event, as with -verbose:gc, but
logs this data to a file. In addition to the information -verbose:gc gives,
each reported event will be preceded by the time (in seconds) since
the first garbage-collection event.
Always use a local file system for storage of this file to avoid st
alling the Java VM due to network latency. The file may be truncated in the
case of a full file system and logging will continue on the truncat
ed file. This option overrides -verbose:gc when both are specified on the com
mand line.
-Xmnsize or -XX:NewSize
Sets the size of the young generation (nursery).
-Xmsn
Specifies the initial size, in bytes, of the memory allocation pool
. This value must be a multiple of 1024 greater than 1 MB. Append the letter k
or K to indicate kilobytes, or m or M to indicate megabytes. The de
fault value is chosen at runtime based on system configuration. See Garbage
Collector Ergonomics at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/techno
tes/guides/vm/gc-ergonomics.html
Examples:
-Xms6291456
-Xms6144k
-Xms6m
-Xmxn
Specifies the maximum size, in bytes, of the memory allocation pool
. This value must a multiple of 1024 greater than 2 MB. Append the letter k or
K to indicate kilobytes, or m or M to indicate megabytes. The defau
lt value is chosen at runtime based on system configuration.
For server deployments, -Xms and -Xmx are often set to the same val
ue. See Garbage Collector Ergonomics at http://docs.ora
cle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/vm/gc-ergonomics.html
Examples:
-Xmx83886080
-Xmx81920k

-Xmx80m
On Solaris 7 and Solaris 8 SPARC platforms, the upper limit for thi
s value is approximately 4000 m minus overhead amounts. On Solaris 2.6 and x86
platforms, the upper limit is approximately 2000 m minus overhead a
mounts. On Linux platforms, the upper limit is approximately 2000 m minus over
head amounts.
-Xprof
Profiles the running program, and sends profiling data to standard
output. This option is provided as a utility that is useful in program develop
ment and is not intended to be used in production systems.
-Xrs
Reduces use of operating-system signals by the Java VM.
In an earlier release, the Shutdown Hooks facility was added to ena
ble orderly shutdown of a Java application. The intent was to enable user
cleanup code (such as closing database connections) to run at shutd
own, even if the Java VM terminates abruptly.
The Java VM catches signals to implement shutdown hooks for unexpec
ted Java VM termination. The Java VM uses SIGHUP, SIGINT, and SIGTERM to initi
ate the running of shutdown hooks.
The JVM uses a similar mechanism to implement the feature of dumpin
g thread stacks for debugging purposes. The JVM uses SIGQUIT to perform thread
dumps.
Applications embedding the Java VM frequently need to trap signals
such as SIGINT or SIGTERM, which can lead to interference with the Java VM sig
nal handlers. The -Xrs command-line option is available to address
this issue. When -Xrs is used on the Java VM, the signal masks for SIGINT,
SIGTERM, SIGHUP, and SIGQUIT are not changed by the Java VM, and si
gnal handlers for these signals are not installed.
There are two consequences of specifying -Xrs:
o SIGQUIT thread dumps are not available.
o User code is responsible for causing shutdown hooks to run, for e
xample by calling System.exit() when the Java VM is to be terminated.
-Xssn
Sets the thread stack size.
-XX:AllocationPrefetchStyle=n
Sets the style of prefetch used during allocation. default=2.
-XX:+AggressiveOpts
Enables aggressive optimization.
-XX:+|-DisableAttachMechanism
Specifies whether commands (such as jmap and jconsole) can attach t
o the Java VM. By default, this feature is disabled. That is, attaching is
enabled, for example:
java -XX:+DisableAttachMechanism
-XXLargePageSizeInBytes=n
Specifies the maximum size for large pages.
-XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=n
Sets a target for the maximum GC pause time.
This is a soft goal, and the Java VM will make its best effort to a
chieve it. There is no maximum value set by default.

-XX:NewSize
Sets the size of the young generation (nursery). Sames as -Xmnsize.
-XX:ParallelGCThreads=n
Sets the number of GC threads in the parallel collectors.
-XX:PredictedClassLoadCount=n
This option requires that the UnlockExperimentalVMOptions flag be s
et first. Use the PredictedClassLoadCount flag if your application loads a lot
of classes and especially if class.forName() is used heavily. The r
ecommended value is the number of classes loaded as shown in the output from
-verbose:class.
Example:
java -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:PredictedClassLoadCount=6
0013
-XX:+PrintCompilation
Prints verbose output from the Java HotSpot VM dynamic runtime comp
iler.
-XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCTimeStamps
Prints garbage collection output along with time stamps.
-XX:SoftRefLRUPolicyMSPerMB=0
This flag enables aggressive processing of software references. Use
this flag if the software reference count has an impact on the Java HotSpot VM
garbage collector.
-XX:TLABSize=n
Thread local allocation buffers (TLAB) are enabled by default in th
e Java HotSpot VM. The Java HotSpot VM sizes TLABs based on allocation pat
terns. The -XX:TLABSize option enables fine-tuning the size of TLAB
s.
-XX:+UseAltSigs
The Java VM uses SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2 by default, which can sometime
s conflict with applications that signal-chain SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2. The
-XX:+UseAltSigs option causes the Java VM to use signals other than
SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2 as the default.
-XX:+|-UseCompressedOops
Enables compressed references in 64-bit Java VMs.
This option is true by default.
-XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC or -XX:+UseG1GC
Enables either the Concurrent Mark Sweep (CMS) or the G1 garbage co
llectors.
-XX:+|-UseLargePages
Enables large page support.
Large pages are enabled by default on Solaris.
-XX:+UseParallelOldGC
Enables the parallel garbage collectors, which are optimized for th
roughput and average response time.
NOTES
The -version:release option places no restrictions on the complexity of t
he release specification. However, only a restricted subset of the possible

release specifications represent sound policy and only these are fully su
pported. These policies are:
1. Any version, represented by not using this option.
2. Any version greater than an arbitrarily precise version-id value, f
or example:
"1.6.0_10+"
This would utilize any version greater than 1.6.0_10. This is usefu
l for a case where an interface was introduced (or a bug fixed) in the release
specified.
3. A version greater than an arbitrarily precise version-id, bounded b
y the upper bound of that release family, for example:
"1.6.0_10+&1.6*"
4. An or expressions of items 2 or 3, for example:
"1.6.0_10+&1.6* 1.7+"
Similar to item 2. This is useful when a change was introduced in a
release (1.7) but also made available in updates to earlier releases.
Performance Tuning Examples
The following examples show how to use experimental tuning flags to optim
ize either throughput or faster response time.
Example 1, Tuning for Higher Throughput
java -d64 -server -XX:+AggressiveOpts -XX:+UseLargePages -Xmn10g
-Xms26g -Xmx26g
Example 2, Tuning for Lower Response Time
java -d64 -XX:+UseG1GC -Xms26g Xmx26g -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=500 -X
X:+PrintGCTimeStamps
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are typically returned by the launcher, typical
ly when the launcher is called with the wrong arguments, serious errors, or
exceptions thrown from the Java Virtual Machine. However, a Java applicat
ion may choose to return any value using the API call System.exit(exitValue).
o 0: Successful completion
o >0: An error occurred
SEE ALSO
o javac(1)
o jdb(1)
o javah(1)
o jar(1)

2013

18 Jul
java(1)