‑Xenableexplicitgc / ‑Xdisableexplicitgc

Enables and disables garbage collection (GC) when calls are made to System.gc().

Syntax

Setting	Effect	Default
-Xenableexplicitgc	Enable explicit GC calls	yes
-Xdisableexplicitgc	Disable explicit GC calls

Explanation

Although it is possible to programmatically trigger a global GC by calling System.gc(), performance can be adversely affected by halting the application before it is really necessary. Use this option to prevent the VM responding to application requests for a GC cycle.

The default for all OpenJ9 GC policies is -Xenableexplicitgc except for -Xgcpolicy:nogc, where the default is -Xdisableexplicitgc.

These options can be used with all OpenJ9 GC policies.