The follow pages introduce some of the larger changes relating to the Java Virtual Machine introduced in the Java SE 8 and JDK 8 release:
The Java HotSpot Virtual Machine Garbage Collection Tuning Guide has been added, which describes the garbage collectors included with the Java HotSpot VM and helps you decide which garbage collector can best optimize the performance of your application, especially if it handles large amounts of data (multiple gigabytes), has many threads, and has high transaction rates.
Area: Specification / vm and HotSpot
Standard/Platform: Java SE 8
Synopsis: The verification of invokespecial instructions has been tightened so that only an instance initialization method in the current class or its direct superclass may be invoked.
RFE: 7160765
The Scalable Native Memory Tracking HotSpot VM feature helps diagnose VM memory leaks and clarify users when memory leaks are not in the VM.
Native Memory Tracker can be run without self-shutdown on large systems and without causing a significant performance impact beyond
what is considered acceptable for small programs.
For details on Native Memory Tracking (NMT) features and how to enable NMT, see Native Memory Tracking.
Area: Specification / vm and HotSpot
Standard/Platform: JDK 8
Synopsis: The scalabilty of Native Memory Tracking (NMT) is improved so that NMT can be run without self-shutdown on large systems and without causing a significant performance impact.
JEP: 8044192
