java(5) File Formats Manual java(5)
NAME
java, javac, jre, jdb, javah, javap, javadoc, appletviewer, rmic, rmiregistry, serialver, native2ascii, jar, javakey - The Java Develop-
ment Kit tools
SYNOPSIS
java [ options ] classname <args> java_g [ options ] classname <args>
DESCRIPTION
This reference page describes the java command only. The Java Development Kit (JDK) is part of the Java Virtual Machine (VM). If the JDK
documentation was installed on your Tru64 UNIX system, you can view documentation on all of the JDK tools, and other Java reference mate-
rial, at the following location:
/usr/share/doclib/java/index.html
The java command invokes an interpreter that executes Java bytecodes. It executes Java class files created by a Java compiler, for
instance, javac.
NOTES
Any arguments that appear after classname on the command line are passed to the main method of the class.
The java command expects the binary representation of the class to be in a file called classname.class, which is generated by compiling the
corresponding source file with javac. All Java class files end with the filename extension .class which the compiler automatically adds
when the class is compiled. classname must contain a main method defined as follows:
class Aclass {
public static void main(String argv[]){
. . .
} }
java executes the main method and then exits unless main creates one or more threads. If any threads are created by main then java doesn't
exit until the last thread exits.
Ordinarily, you compile source files with javac then run the program using java. However, java can be used to compile and run programs when
the -cs option is used. As each class file is loaded its modification date is compared to the modification date of the class source file.
If the source has been modified more recently, it is recompiled and the new class file is loaded. java repeats this procedure until all the
classes are correctly compiled and loaded.
The interpreter can determine whether a class is legitimate through the mechanism of verification. Verification ensures prior to their exe-
cution that class files do not violate any language constraints.
java_g is a non-optimized version of java suitable for use with debuggers like jdb.
EXAMPLES
The classname argument is the name of the class to be executed. classname must be fully qualified by including its package in the name,
for example:
% java java.lang.String
When you define your own classes you need to specify their location. Use CLASSPATH to do this. CLASSPATH consists of a colon separated list
of directories that specifies the path. For example:
.:/home/xyz/classes
The system always appends the location of the system classes onto the end of the class path unless you use the -classpath option to specify
a path.
OPTIONS
Allows the Java debugger, jdb, to attach itself to this java session. When -debug is specified on the command line, java displays a pass-
word which must be used when starting the debugging session. When a compiled class is loaded, this option causes the modification time of
the class bytecode file to be compared to that of the class source file. If the source has been modified more recently, it is recompiled
and the new class file is loaded. Specifies the path java uses to look up classes. Overrides the default or the CLASSPATH environment
variable if it is set. Directories are separated by colons. Thus the general format for path is: .:<your_path> For example:
.:/home/xyz/classes:/usr/local/java/classes Sets the maximum size of the memory allocation pool (the garbage collected heap) to x. The
default is 16 megabytes of memory. x must be greater than or equal to 1000 bytes.
By default, x is measured in bytes. You can specify x in either kilobytes or megabytes by appending the letter k for kilobytes or
the letter m for megabytes. Sets the startup size of the memory allocation pool (the garbage collected heap) to x. The default is 1
megabyte of memory. x must be > 1000 bytes.
By default, x is measured in bytes. You can specify x in either kilobytes or megabytes by appending the letter k for kilobytes or
the letter m for megabytes. Turns off asynchronous garbage collection. When activated no garbage collection takes place unless it
is explicitly called or the program runs out of memory. Normally garbage collection runs as an asynchronous thread in parallel with
other threads. Turns off garbage collection of Java classes. By default, the Java interpreter reclaims space for unused Java
classes during garbage collection. Prints the build version information. Prints a usage message. Each Java thread has two stacks:
one for Java code and one for C code. The -ss option sets the maximum stack size that can be used by C code in a thread to x. Every
thread that is spawned during the execution of the program passed to java has x as its C stack size. The default units for x are
bytes. The value of x must be greater than or equal to 1000 bytes.
You can modify the meaning of x by appending either the letter k for kilobytes or the letter m for megabytes. The default stack
size is 128 kilobytes (-ss 128k). Each Java thread has two stacks: one for Java code and one for C code. The -oss option sets the
maximum stack size that can be used by Java code in a thread to x. Every thread that is spawned during the execution of the program
passed to java has x as its Java stack size. The default units for x are bytes. The value of x must be greater than or equal to 1000
bytes.
You can modify the meaning of x by appending either the letter k for kilobytes or the letter m for megabytes. The default stack
size is 400 kilobytes (-oss 400k). Prints a trace of the instructions executed (java_g only). Causes java to print a message to
stdout each time a class file is loaded. Runs the verifier on all code. Runs the verifier on all code that is loaded into the sys-
tem via a classloader. verifyremote is the default for the interpreter. Turns verification off. Causes the garbage collector to
print out messages whenever it frees memory. Redefines a property value. propertyName is the name of the property whose value you
want to change and newValue is the value to change it to. For example, this command line % java -Dawt.button.color=green ...
sets the value of the property awt.button.color to "green". java accepts any number of -D options on the command line.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
Used to provide the system a path to user-defined classes. Directories are separated by colons, for example,
.:/home/xyz/classes:/usr/local/java/classes
SEE ALSO
If the JDK documentation was installed on your Tru64 UNIX system, you can view it at the following location:
/usr/share/doclib/java/index.html delim off
java(5)