Java – How much memory does jProfiler need to analyze a heap dump of size X

You can use the java.lang.instrument package.

Compile and put this class in a JAR:

import java.lang.instrument.Instrumentation;

public class ObjectSizeFetcher {
    private static Instrumentation instrumentation;

    public static void premain(String args, Instrumentation inst) {
        instrumentation = inst;
    }

    public static long getObjectSize(Object o) {
        return instrumentation.getObjectSize(o);
    }
}

Add the following to your MANIFEST.MF:

Premain-Class: ObjectSizeFetcher

Use the getObjectSize() method:

public class C {
    private int x;
    private int y;

    public static void main(String [] args) {
        System.out.println(ObjectSizeFetcher.getObjectSize(new C()));
    }
}

Invoke with:

java -javaagent:ObjectSizeFetcherAgent.jar C

Stack allocation is much faster since all it really does is move the stack pointer. Using memory pools, you can get comparable performance out of heap allocation, but that comes with a slight added complexity and its own headaches.

Also, stack vs. heap is not only a performance consideration; it also tells you a lot about the expected lifetime of objects.