Java Memory Concepts
Internal
Heap
The heap is the runtime data area in the JVM where all class instances and arrays are allocated. The heap is allocated when the JVM starts, and it may be of a fixed or variable size. The objects that are no longer in use are automatically reclaimed by a garbage collector. Metrics reflecting heap usage are exposed by the Memory MBean, which can be obtained from the platform MBean server.
Non-Heap Memory
Anything else that is not a class instance or an array is allocated by the JVM in memory areas different from heap. These memory areas are referred collectively as non-heap memory. The non-heap memory include:
- a method area
- thread stack storage area
Memory Manager
Memory Pool
Garbage Collector
Thread Stack Memory Management
The default thread stack size on 64-bit systems is 1024K. 64k is the least amount of stack space allowed per thread.
It can be modified with with the -Xss option:
java ... -Xss<size> ...
where "<size>" represents the amount of memory and the measure unit (ex "2048k").