Triggering a Javadump

Javadumps are triggered by a number of events, both in error situations and user-initiated.

By default, a Javadump is triggered when one of the following error conditions occurs:

A fatal native exception
Not a Java™ Exception. A "fatal" exception is one that causes the JVM to stop. The JVM handles the event by producing a system dump followed by a snap trace file, a Javadump, and then terminating the process.
The JVM has insufficient memory to continue operation
There are many reasons for running out of memory. See Problem determination for more information.

You can also initiate a Javadump to obtain diagnostic information in one of the following ways:

You can send a signal to the JVM from the command line

The signal for AIX® is SIGQUIT. Use the command kill -QUIT n to send the signal to a process with process id (PID) n. Alternatively, press CTRL+\ in the shell window that started Java.

The JVM will continue operation after the signal has been handled.

You can use the JavaDump() method in your application

The com.ibm.jvm.Dump class contains a static JavaDump() method that causes Java code to initiate a Javadump. In your application code, add a call to com.ibm.jvm.Dump.JavaDump(). This call is subject to the same Javadump environment variables that are described in Enabling a Javadump.

The JVM will continue operation after the JavaDump has been produced.

You can initiate a Javadump using the wasadmin utility

In a WebSphere® Application Server environment, use the wasadmin utility to initiate a dump.

The JVM will continue operation after the JavaDump has been produced.

You can configure a dump agent to trigger a Javadump
Use the -Xdump:java: option to configure a dump agent on the command line. See Using the -Xdump option for more information.
You can use the trigger trace option to generate a Javadump
Use the -Xtrace:trigger option to produce a Javadump when the substring method shown in the following example is called:
-Xtrace:trigger=method{java/lang/String.substring,javadump}
For a detailed description of this trace option, see trigger=<clause>[,<clause>][,<clause>]...


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