## Name

java - the Java application launcher

## SYNOPSIS

    f3
    f3java [ f2options ] f2class [ f2argument ... ]
    f3java [ f2options ] f3-jar f2file.jar [ f2argument ... ]

options Command-line options. See f2Options.

class The name of the class to be called.

file.jar The name of the JAR file to be called. Used only with the f3-jar command.

argument The arguments passed to the f3main function.

## DESCRIPTION

The f3java command starts a Java application. It does this by starting a Java runtime environment, loading a specified class, and calling that class's f3main method.

The method must be declared public and static, it must not return any value, and it must accept a String array as a parameter. The method declaration has the following form:

    f3
    public static void main(String args[])

By default, the first argument without an option is the name of the class to be called. A fully qualified class name should be used. If the f3-jar option is specified, then the first non-option argument is the name of a JAR file 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 f3main function.

## OPTIONS

The launcher has a set of standard options that are supported in the current 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 f2Nonstandard 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 f2Server-Class Machine Detection at 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 the Java Hotspot Server VM is supported so the f3-f3server option is implicit.
For default a Java VM selection, see f2Server-Class Machine Detection at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/vm/server-class.html

-agentlib:libname[=options] Loads native agent library f2libname, for example:

    f3
    -agentlib:hprof

    -agentlib:jdwp=help

    -agentlib:hprof=help

See f2JVMTI Agent Command-Line Options at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/platform/jvmti/jvmti.html#starting/dd>

-agentpath:pathname[=options] Loads a native agent library by full f2pathname. See f2JVMTI Command-Line Options at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/platform/jvmti/jvmti.html#starting

-classpath classpath, -cp classpath Specifies a list of directories, JAR files, and ZIP archives to search for class files. Separate class path entries with colons (:). Specifying f3-classpath or f3-cp overrides any setting of the f2CLASSPATH environment variable.
If f3-classpath and f3-cp are not used and f2CLASSPATH is not set, then the user class path consists of the current directory (.).
As a special convenience, a class path element that contains a base name of f3* is considered equivalent to specifying a list of all the files in the directory with the extension .jar or .JAR. A Java program cannot tell the difference between the two invocations.
For example, if directory mydir contains a.jar and b.JAR, then the class path element f3mydir/* is expanded to a A.jar:b.JAR, except that the order of jar files is unspecified. All jar files in the specified directory, even hidden ones, are included in the list. A class path entry consisting simply of f3* expands to a list of all the jar files in the current directory. The f2CLASSPATH environment variable, where defined, will be similarly expanded. Any class path wildcard expansion occurs before the Java VM is started. No Java program will ever see wild cards that are not expanded except by querying the environment. For example, by calling f3System.getenv("CLASSPATH").

-Dproperty=value Sets a system property value.

-d32 Run the application in a 32-bit environment. If a 32-bit environment 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 environment 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 f3-server option is implicit with the use of f3-d64. The f3-client option is ignored with the use of f3-d64. This is subject to change in a future release.

-disableassertions[:package name"..." | :class name ], -da[:package name"..." | :class name ] Disable assertions. This is the default.
With no arguments, f3-disableassertions or f3-da disables assertions. With one argument ending in f3"...", the switch disables assertions in the specified package and any subpackages. If the argument is f3"...", then the switch disables assertions in the unnamed package in the current working directory. With one argument not ending in f3"...", the switch disables assertions in the specified class.
To run a program with assertions enabled in f3package com.wombat.fruitbat but disabled in class f3com.wombat.fruitbat.Brickbat, the following command could be used:

    f3
    java -ea:com.wombat.fruitbat... -da:com.wombat.fruitbat.Brickbat <Main Class>

The f3-disableassertions and f3-da switches apply to all class loaders and 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 system classes. The f3-disablesystemassertions option provides a separate swith to enable assertions in all system classes.

-enableassertions[:package name"..." | :class name ], -ea[:package name"..." | :class name ] Enable assertions. Assertions are disabled by default.
With no arguments, f3-enableassertions or f3-ea enables assertions. With one argument ending in f3"...", the switch enables assertions in the specified package and any subpackages. If the argument is f3"...", then the switch enables assertions in the unnamed package in the current working directory. With one argument not ending in f3"...", the switch enables assertions 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:

    f3
    java -ea:com.wombat.fruitbat... <Main Class>

The f3-enableassertions and f3-ea switches apply to all class loaders and 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 system classes. The f3-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 argument 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 f3Main-Class: f2classname. Here, f2classname identifies the class with the f3public static void main(String[] args) method that serves as your application's starting point.
When you use this option, the JAR file is the source of all user classes, and other user class path settings are ignored.
JAR files that can be run with the f3java -jar option can have their execute permissions set so they can be run without using f3java -jar. See f2JAR File Overview at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/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 description in the Java API documentation at

f2http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/instrument/package-summary.html @

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/instrument/package-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 f2imagepath.

-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 Native Interface activity.

-version Displays version information and exits. See also the f3-showversion option.

-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 f3java command called does not meet this specification and an appropriate implementation is found on the system, then the appropriate implementation will be used.
The f3release option specifies an exact version and a list of versions called a version string. A version string is an ordered list of version ranges separated by spaces. A version range is either a f2version-id, a f2version-id followed by an asterisk (f3*), a f2version-id followed by a plus sign (f3+), or a version range that consists of two f2version-ids combined using an ampersand (f3&). The asterisk means prefix match, the plus sign means this version or greater, and the ampersand means the logical f3and of the two version-ranges, for example:

    f3
    -version:"1.6.0_13 1.6*&1.6.0_10+"

The meaning of the previous example is that the class or JAR file requires either version 1.6.0_13, or a version with 1.6 as a f2version-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 f2Java 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 f2Notes for important policy information on the use of this option.

##

Non-Standard Options

-X Displays information about nonstandard options and exits.

-Xint Operates in interpreted-only mode. Compilation to native code is disabled, and all bytecode is executed by the interpreter. The performance benefits offered by the Java HotSpot Client VM adaptive compiler is not present in this mode.

-Xbatch Disables background compilation. Typically, the Java VM compiles the method as a background task, running the method in interpreter mode until the background compilation is finished. The -Xbatch flag disables background 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 class 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) functions. 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 fatal error in such cases. Expect a performance degradation when this option is used.

-Xfuture Performs strict class-file format checks. For backward compatibility, 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 software. The f3-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 Java 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 f3OutOfMemoryError 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 during such times will reduce the processor capacity available to the program.

-Xloggc:file Reports on each garbage collection event, as with f3-verbose:gc, but logs this data to a file. In addition to the information f3-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 stalling 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 truncated file. This option overrides f3-verbose:gc when both are specified on the command 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 f3k or f3K to indicate kilobytes, or f3m or f3M to indicate megabytes. The default value is chosen at runtime based on system configuration. See f2Garbage Collector Ergonomics at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/vm/gc-ergonomics.html
Examples:

    f3
    -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 f3k or f3K to indicate kilobytes, or f3m or f3M to indicate megabytes. The default value is chosen at runtime based on system configuration.
For server deployments, f3-Xms and f3-Xmx are often set to the same value. See f2Garbage Collector Ergonomics at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/vm/gc-ergonomics.html
Examples:

    f3
    -Xmx83886080
    -Xmx81920k
    -Xmx80m

On Solaris 7 and Solaris 8 SPARC platforms, the upper limit for this value is approximately 4000 m minus overhead amounts. On Solaris 2.6 and x86 platforms, the upper limit is approximately 2000 m minus overhead amounts. On Linux platforms, the upper limit is approximately 2000 m minus overhead 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 development 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 enable orderly shutdown of a Java application. The intent was to enable user cleanup code (such as closing database connections) to run at shutdown, even if the Java VM terminates abruptly.
The Java VM catches signals to implement shutdown hooks for unexpected Java VM termination. The Java VM uses f3SIGHUP, f3SIGINT, and f3SIGTERM to initiate the running of shutdown hooks.
The JVM uses a similar mechanism to implement the feature of dumping thread stacks for debugging purposes. The JVM uses f3SIGQUIT to perform thread dumps.
Applications embedding the Java VM frequently need to trap signals such as f3SIGINT or f3SIGTERM, which can lead to interference with the Java VM signal handlers. The f3-Xrs command-line option is available to address this issue. When f3-Xrs is used on the Java VM, the signal masks for f3SIGINT, f3SIGTERM, f3SIGHUP, and f3SIGQUIT are not changed by the Java VM, and signal handlers for these signals are not installed.
There are two consequences of specifying f3-Xrs:

o f3SIGQUIT thread dumps are not available.

o User code is responsible for causing shutdown hooks to run, for example by calling f3System.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 f3jmap and f3jconsole) can attach to the Java VM. By default, this feature is disabled. That is, attaching is enabled, for example:

    f3
    java -XX:+DisableAttachMechanism

-XX:+|-FlightRecorder Toggles the use of the Java Flight Recorder (JFR) during the runtime of the application. This is a commercial feature that requires you to also specify the f3-XX:+UnlockCommercialFeatures option as follows:

    f3
    java -XX:+UnlockCommercialFeatures -XX:+FlightRecorder

-XX:FlightRecorderOptions=parameter=value Sets the parameters that control the behavior of JFR. This option can be used only when JFR is enabled (that is, the f3-XX:+FlightRecorder option is specified).
The following list contains all available JFR parameters:

defaultrecording=true|false Specifies whether background recording is enabled. By default, this parameter is set to f3false (background recording is disabled). To enable it, set the parameter to f3true.

disk=true|false Specifies whether JFR should write a continuous recording to disk. By default, this parameter is set to f3false (continuous recording to disk is disabled). To enable it, set the parameter to f3true.

dumponexit=true|false Specifies whether a dump file of JFR data should be generated when the JVM terminates in a controlled manner. By default, this parameter is set to f3false (dump file on exit is not generated). To enable it, set the parameter to f3true.
The dump file is written to the location defined by the f3dumponexitpath parameter.

dumponexitpath=path Specifies the path and name of the dump file with JFR data that is created when the JVM exits in a controlled manner if you set the f3dumponexit=true parameter.If the specified path is a directory, the JVM assigns a file name that shows the creation date and time. If the specified path includes a file name and if that file already exists, the JVM creates a new file by appending the date and time stamp to the specified file name.

globalbuffersize=size Specifies the total amount of primary memory (in MB) used for data retention. By default, the size is set to 10 MB.

maxage=time Specifies the maximum age (in minutes) of disk data for default recording. By default, the maximum age is set to 15 minutes.This parameter is valid only if you set the f3disk=true parameter.

maxchunksize=size Specifies the maximum size (in MB) of the data chunks in a recording. By default, the maximum size of data chunks is set to 12 MB.

maxsize=size Specifies the maximum size (in MB) of disk data for default recording. By default, the maximum size of disk data is not limited.
This parameter is valid only if you set the f3disk=true parameter.

repository=path Specifies the repository (a directory) for temporary disk storage. By default, the system’s temporary directory is used.

settings=path Specifies the path and name of the event settings file (of type JFS). By default, the f3default.jfs file is used, which is located in f3JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/jfr.

threadbuffersize=size Specifies the per-thread local buffer size (in KB). Higher values for this parameter allow more data gathering without contention to flush it to the global storage. It can increase application footprint in a thread-rich environment. By default, the local buffer size is set to 5 KB.
You can specify values for multiple parameters by separating them with a comma. For example, to instruct JFR to write a continuous recording to disk, and set the maximum size of data chunks to 10 MB, specify the following:

    f3
    -XX:FlightRecorderOptions=disk=true,maxchunksize=10M

-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 achieve it. There is no maximum value set by default.

-XX:NewSize Sets the size of the young generation (nursery). Sames as f3-Xmnsize.

-XX:ParallelGCThreads=n Sets the number of GC threads in the parallel collectors.

-XX:PredictedClassLoadCount=n This option requires that the f3UnlockExperimentalVMOptions flag be set first. Use the f3PredictedClassLoadCount flag if your application loads a lot of classes and especially if f3class.forName() is used heavily. The recommended value is the number of classes loaded as shown in the output from f3-verbose:class.
Example:

    f3
    java -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:PredictedClassLoadCount=60013

-XX:+PrintCompilation Prints verbose output from the Java HotSpot VM dynamic runtime compiler.

-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:StartFlightRecording=parameter=value Starts a JFR recording for the Java application. This option is equivalent to the f3start_flightrecording diagnostic command that starts JFR at runtime. You can set the following parameters when starting a JFR recording:

compress=true|false Specifies whether to compress the JFR recording log file (of type JFR) on the disk using the f3gzip file compression utility. This parameter is valid only if the f3filename parameter is specified. By defaut it is set to f3false (recoding is not compressed). To enable compression, set the parameter to f3true.

defaultrecording=true|false Specifies whether the recording is continuous or it runs for a limited time. By default, this parameter is set to f3false (recording runs for a limited time). To make the recording run continuously, set the parameter to f3true.

delay=time Specifies the delay (in milliseconds) between the Java application launch time and the start of the recording. By default, there is no delay and this parameter is set to 0.

duration=time Specifies the duration (in milliseconds) of the recording. By default, the duration is not limited.

filename=path Specifies the path and name of the JFR recording log file.

name=identifier Specifies the identifier for the JFR recording. By default, it is set to Recording x

maxage=time Specifies the maximum age (in minutes) of disk data for default recording. By default, the maximum age is set to 15 minutes.

maxsize=size Specifies the maximum size (in MB) of the recording before it is flushed from the thread buffer to the global buffer. By default, the maximum size is not limited.
This parameter is valid only for size-bound recordings.

settings=path Specifies the path and name of the event settings file (of type JFS). By default, the f3default.jfs file is used, which is located in f3JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/jfr.

You can specify values for multiple parameters by separating them with a comma. For example, to save the recording to test.jfr in the current working directory, and instruct JFR to compress the log file, specify the following:

    f3
    -XX:StartFlightRecording=filename=test.jfr,compress=true

-XX:TLABSize=n Thread local allocation buffers (TLAB) are enabled by default in the Java HotSpot VM. The Java HotSpot VM sizes TLABs based on allocation patterns. The f3-XX:TLABSize option enables fine-tuning the size of TLABs.

-XX:+UnlockCommercialFeatures Use this flag to actively unlock the use of commercial features. Commercial features are the products Oracle Java SE Advanced or Oracle Java SE Suite, as defined at the Java SE Products web page.
If this flag is not specified, then the default is to run the Java Virtual Machine without the commercial features being available. After they are enabled, it is not possible to disable their use at runtime.

-XX:+UseAltSigs The Java VM uses f3SIGUSR1 and f3SIGUSR2 by default, which can sometimes conflict with applications that signal-chain f3SIGUSR1 and f3SIGUSR2. The f3-XX:+UseAltSigs option causes the Java VM to use signals other than f3SIGUSR1 and f3SIGUSR2 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 collectors.

-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 throughput and average response time.

## NOTES

The f2-version:release option places no restrictions on the complexity of the release specification. However, only a restricted subset of the possible release specifications represent sound policy and only these are fully supported. These policies are:

1. Any version, represented by not using this option.

2. Any version greater than an arbitrarily precise f2version-id value, for example:

    f3
    "1.6.0_10+"

This would utilize any version greater than 1.6.0_10. This is useful 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 by the upper bound of that release family, for example:

    f3
    "1.6.0_10+&1.6*"

4. An f3or expressions of items 2 or 3, for example:

    f3
    "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 optimize either throughput or faster response time.

##

Example 1, Tuning for Higher Throughput

    f3
            java -d64 -server -XX:+AggressiveOpts -XX:+UseLargePages -Xmn10g  -Xms26g -Xmx26g

##

Example 2, Tuning for Lower Response Time

    f3
            java -d64 -XX:+UseG1GC -Xms26g Xmx26g -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=500 -XX:+PrintGCTimeStamps

## EXIT STATUS

The following exit values are typically returned by the launcher, typically when the launcher is called with the wrong arguments, serious errors, or exceptions thrown from the Java Virtual Machine. However, a Java application may choose to return any value using the API call f3System.exit(exitValue).

o f30: Successful completion

o f3>0: An error occurred

## SEE ALSO

o javac(1)

o jdb(1)

o javah(1)

o jar(1)