README

This is the README file for

JLMEM

Author & Copyright

jlmem was written by Robert Gasch (Robert_Gasch@peoplesoft.com) and is copyright by the author. jlmem is available from various FTP sites (most notably the Linux section of sunsite.unc.edu ) as well as the author's home page, which is:

http://www.peoplesoft.com/peoplepages/g/robert_gasch/index.htm

Distribution Policy

Permission to use, copy, modify and distribute this software for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that this copyright notice appear in all copies as well as supporting documentation. All work developed as a consequence of the use of this program should duly acknowledge such use.

See the GNU General Public Licence (included in the file "Copying") for more information.

Guarantees

jlmem should work all right but

No representations are made about the suitability of this software for any purpose. This software is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

What is jlmem?

jlmem stands for Java Linux MEmory Monitor and runs under Java on LINUX machines. It's a tool designed designed to make monitoring your memory usage easy by displaying a simple bar graph for both real and virtual memory.

Note: jlmem is a java application, not a java applet.

Version Number

The current version number is 1.02

What if you change the program?

If you extend jlmem's functionality or simply solve a bug, please mail me the changes(!) as I'd like to act as the central source for jlmem. This will also enable me to include your changes in a future release.

What systems are currently supported

LINUX kernel 2.0 or later

While the java code will run on any java-enabled platform, it will exit with an error on any platform which does not have a LINUX style /proc filesystem mounted, specifically /proc/meminfo.

What's the point of writing an OS dependent application under java?

There really isn't one. It's contrary to the whole idea platform independence. On the other hand, it might be handy for a java application to know the memory situation on the host it's running on.

Future Enhancements

I'm not planning any. jlmem is basically the result of me getting to know java. One other useful thing might be to change the code so that it runs as an applet. Maybe in the future ...

Are there any classes I can use in my programs?

Yes. jlmem builds on 2 classes:

ReadLinuxMem: reads and parses /proc/meminfo
DrawLinuxMem: extends ReadLinuxMem and draws the graphs

How do I get started?

Type the following command at the prompt: java jlmem

Command line parameters

jlmem accepts the following parameters as command line options:

-a draw absolute graphs
-v verbose
-i update memory statistics every seconds
-help show this help info

I've found a bug. What now?

The best thing would be to fix it yourself and send the fix to me. The next best thing is to send me mail.

I'm extatic about this wonderful program. How can I make the author happy?

If you really feel this way, how about a short mail message telling me that you are happy about using jlmem.

I hate this worthless program. It ruins my day.

Don't use it. Don't mail me!

Credits

Thanks to Anderson Silva for a patch which cleaned up some code and added the display of the total memory size to the bar graphs.