Identifying, and changing the memory used by Chirp (and Java VM)

07 Sep 2010

Support Center » Knowledgebase » Identifying, and changing the memory used by Chirp (and Java VM)

	Identifying, and changing the memory used by Chirp (and Java VM)

Solution Users with very large numbers of tasks (e.g. > 500) in their local database can sometimes run into performance problems. Symptoms will typically include very long synchronization times, or even the loss of certain information over time. Chirp is a Java application, and the Java virtual machine (JVM) allocates a fixed amount of memory in which it runs Chirp. If Chirp's requirements exceed this, you may need to configure Chirp to have the JVM allocate more.

Plum Canary Technical Support may request you to provide the current setting for the amount of memory allocated by the JVM, or to change the amount.

To do find the current setting, please do the following:
(Windows)

Click Start > Programs > Plum Canary, then Right click Chirp, and select "Properties"
In the dialog that appears, look at the blank labelled "Target". In this field, look to see whether there is a string of characters beginning with -Xmx.... (You may have to put your insertion character into this field, and use your left/right arrow keys to examine the entire contents of the field.)

If there is an entry -Xmx000m, this entry indicates the memory size allocated by the JVM. (This string may not be present, which means Chirp is using the default 256 megabytes.) If it is present, when asked by Plum Canary Support please provide this string (e.g. Xmx256m).

(NOTE: In many of the lines below shown in typewriter font, the text uses left/right parenthesis around strings, e.g. (key)VMOptions(/key). This is NOT what you will see in your files; you will, instead, see left & right angle brackets. However, our eSupport system does not allow us to create knowledgebase entries that use angle brackets; the system does not properly display them when entered. Therefore, where you see () here, assume you will see angle brackets on your computer.)

(Mac OS X)

Open the Terminal application (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
Type the following (assuming you installed Chirp into the recommended folder, /Applications):
```
   cd /Applications/Chirp.app/Contents

   cat Info.plist
```

Near the end of the long list of lines that will be printed out, locate the lines that appear similar to the following:



       (key)VMOptions(/key)

            (string)-Xdock:icon=../Resources/Chirp.icns -XstartOnFirstThread -Xms40m -Xmx256m

                -Dorg.eclipse.swt.internal.carbon.smallFonts -Dorg.eclipse.swt.internal.carbon.noFocusRing(/string)

The entry -Xmx000m indicates the memory size allocated by the JVM. When asked by Plum Canary Support, please provide this string (e.g. Xmx256m).

Changing memory allocation

To change the JVM allocation, please do the following:
(Windows)

Click Start > Programs > Plum Canary, then Right click Chirp, and select "Properties"

In the dialog that appears, look at the blank labelled "Target". Click into this field, use your right-arrow key to move the insertion cursor to the end of the currently-entered text.

Enter the following text:
```
    -vmoptions -Xmx512m
```

where 512 is the number provided to you by Plum Canary Technical Support to enter into this entry.

(OS X)

Open the Terminal application (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal)

Type the following:



cd /Applications/Chirp.app/Contents (assuming you installed Chirp into the recommended folder, /Applications)

cp Info.plist ~/Desktop

Open the TextEdit application (/Applications/TextEdit)

Scroll to near the end of the file, and locate the lines that appear similar to the following:



        (key)VMOptions(/key)

            (string)-Xdock:icon=../Resources/Chirp.icns -XstartOnFirstThread -Xms40m -Xmx256m

                -Dorg.eclipse.swt.internal.carbon.smallFonts -Dorg.eclipse.swt.internal.carbon.noFocusRing(/string)

Change the number in the string -Xmx256m to be 512 (e.g. -Xmx512m), or to whatever number you are instructed by Plum Canary Technical Support.

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Created On:

20 Sep 2007 06:03 AM