oracle / oracle/visualvm

At startup VisualVM picks a JDK that it then decides it won't/can't run with

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bug
Dominant language
Java
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Description

At startup VisualVM picks a JDK that it then decides it won't/can't run with.

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

  1. VisualVM 2.0.6 and macOS BigSur (Had the same problem before with other versions)
  2. Have Java 1.6, 1.8, 11, 15 and 16 installed.
  3. When starting VisualVM will choose Java 16 to run with (since it the latest...)
  4. Since Java 16 is unsupported it will then refuse to run...

a) There are 5 JDK:s available – 3 of which should work perfectly (fully supported). Why not pick one of those 3?

b) Why refuse to run with Java 16? Are you sure it won't work?

c) I have found and modified the visualvm_jdkhome property in /Applications/VisualVM.app/Contents/Resources/visualvm/etc/visualvm.conf
I shouldn't have to do this, but if I need/want to change some settings it would be preferable from
~/Library/Application Support/VisualVM/2.0.6/config

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First steps

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  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with /Applications/VisualVM.app/Contents/Resources/visualvm/etc/visualvm.conf and the visualvm_jdkhome property, then trace how VisualVM selects and validates an installed JDK on macOS. Check how settings under ~/Library/Application Support/VisualVM/2.0.6/config are handled. Done means startup no longer selects an unsupported JDK when a supported one is available, without requiring edits inside the application bundle.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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