Java Mission Control 5.5 Release Notes

This document describes What is New in Java Mission Control (JMC) release 5.5, and lists the notable bug fixes and known issues in JMC 5.5 and its update releases.

JMC is an advanced set of tools that enables efficient and detailed data analysis, and delivers advanced, unobtrusive Java monitoring and management. JMC provides sections for common analysis areas such as code performance, memory and latency.

Contents

What's New

The following new features and changes are included in JMC 5.5.

  • JMC 5.5 is Based On Eclipse 4.4

    • The JMC application inherits many benefits from Eclipse 4.4, such as the ability to select fonts and style JMC using themes. For more information about Eclipse 4.4, see https://www.eclipse.org/eclipse/news/4.4/eclipse_news_4.4.php.

  • Improved Performance

    • Workarounds for various Eclipse bugs makes the JMC 5.5. plug-in feel more responsive when running in Eclipse 4.4. Running JMC 5.4 in a 4.x version of Eclipse will be quite slow in comparison.

  • JMC Plug-Ins Are Now Signed

    • When installing experimental plug-ins, the user will no longer be prompted with a warning stating that the plug-in is unsigned. Signed plug-ins are more secure, providing proof that it was created by Oracle and has not been tampered with.

  • Dynamic Enablement of Flight Recorder

    • In JMC 5.5, it is possible to dynamically enable flight recordings in a JVM that is already running. When starting a new Flight Recording, a dialog box will appear, asking if commercial features should be enabled in the JVM. Simply clicking "Yes" will enable this functionality.

  • Lambda Form Hidden Methods

    • By default, JMC 5.5 hides lambda form hidden methods. This should make it easier (for example) to analyze Nashorn recordings. To control whether or not to show methods annotated as hidden, choose Preferences -> Java Mission Control -> Flight Recorder -> "Show hidden lambda methods."

  • New Tooling for MBean Creation and Registration

    • It is now possible to create and register new MBeans from within JMC. A new icon at the top of the MBean Tree panel will bring up the "Dynamically Create and Register a New MBean" wizard when clicked.

  • Improved Rendering of Bad MBean Attributes

    • The MBean Browser now displays bad attributes as N/A. For more information, see "Using the MBean Browser Tab" in JMC's built-in help system.

Java Troubleshooting Guide is updated with content for Troubleshooting using Java Mission Control, Debug Memory Leaks using Java Flight Recorder (JFR), and Troubleshooting Performance Issues using JFR.

Bug Fixes

  • JMC 5.5 Bug Fixes
     

Area: Mission Control Client
Synopsis: Improved "Jump To Source" Behavior

When running JMC 5.5 in Eclipse, "jump to source" will now jump to the appropriate line in the method body. In previous releases, this action would simply jump to the method declaration.

Area: Mission Control Client
Synopsis: Improved MBean Server Behavior

The JMX Console no longer assumes that it is connected to the platform MBean server. It is now possible to use any MBean server.

Known Issues

  • JMC 5.5.2 Known Issues 

Area: Mission Control Client
Synopsis: JMC does not respond on OS X 10.11 or higher

Due to a bugfix in JDK-7131356, the Eclipse RCP platform (4.4) used for the stand alone version of JMC 5.5.2 bundled with JDK 8 will not work on Max OS X. The following three workarounds are available:

1. Use the version of JMC 5.5.2 bundled with JDK 7.
2. Run the JMC client on another platform.
3. Run JMC 5.5.2 from within Eclipse 4.6 or later on Mac OS X.

  • JMC 5.5 Known Issues 

Area: Mission Control Client
Synopsis: Selection Font Color and Background Color Problem on Oracle Linux 7

When running JMC with the default theme on Oracle Linux 7, the selection front color and background can be the same, making it seem that the text disappears. One workaround is to change the theme (Window->Preferences->Appearance->Theme) from GTK to Classic in JMC.

Area: Mission Control Client
Synopsis: Cannot use JOverflow on Eclipse 3.8

Installing JMC in an Eclipse 3.8 installation together with the JOverflow experimental plug-in works fine. But the JOverflow plug-in itself is not usable since the execution environment is set to JDK 1.7 whereas JOverflow requires JDK 1.8.

Area: Mission Control Client
Synopsis: Cannot initialize Java FX on Linux

Java Mission Control may be unable to initialize JavaFX on Linux. This means that Java Mission Control will either hang or crash if the JOverflow Heap Analyzer is installed and a .hprof-dump is loaded in Java Mission Control.

Area: Mission Control Client
Synopsis: Text search control seems empty when no focus on OS X 10.10

After text is entered, the text search control seems empty when the focus is removed. It still contains text, but it is not rendered properly anymore. When focus is regained, it will show the text correctly again.