Java memory not release when image stacks closed

Posted by David A. Sebok on May 09, 2008; 2:55pm
URL: http://imagej.273.s1.nabble.com/Java-memory-not-release-when-image-stacks-closed-tp3696247.html

If I open multiple "large"(~100mb)image stacks and then close them, the
memory monitor will show a decrease in memory (after a variable lag) but the
Windows Task Manager does not show any decrease in Mem Usage for the Java
VM, even after an overnight wait.  The Virtual Memory size stays at the
largest memory ever used during a single session.  The "Java VM" Memory
Usage will decline if other programs are loaded.  But when new images are
loaded, there can be a big lag in ImageJ while "empty" memory is paged back in.

I first noticed this problem when I upgraded from  1.39c to 1.39q.  It
forced me to revert to 1.39c.  I was hoping this problem would have been
fixed when I upgraded to 1.41b but it is still there.

It sort of seems like the Java VM garbage collector in ImageJ has been
deliberately disabled.  This would be okay if the system were only being
used by ImageJ.  But as I normally have multiple applications starting and
stopping, this means that the performance hit to ImageJ becomes such that it
has to be stopped and restarted.