Java for Phex in OSX
 

I've been using Phex 2.6.4
I'm operating in OSX 10.4.6 with Java 1.5 forced as the 1st preference Java for all applications. Yet I've just noticed Phex is using Java 1.4.2
I'd have thought Java 1.5 would be preferential. Do the newer Phex versions allow for Java 1.5 on OSX?
Is a high no. of threads normal for Phex? Last time I noticed around 450 or so I think it was (after a few days.)

Also I notice the firewall icon takes about 10 mins to turn off. I have a port forwarded for Phex. I was so concerned recently I re-port forwarded thinking I hadn't port forwarded correctly when I previously used Phex (2-3 mths ago.) Why does Phex take so long to see that the listening port is already open for it.

BTW it would be nice if the window settings/positioning were retained for each time we re-opened Phex.

Edit: I haven't downlded anything this time & threads is 30 odd after about 4 hours.

Well not sure why Phex is using 1.4.2 on OSX, Java 1.5 would be much preferred. Specially since OSX is still the only environment where Java 1.5 is not the dominating Java VM used. So if you find a solution why 1.4 is used I would be very interested about it.

A high number of threads is usuall for Phex. Maybe after a few days the number growed a bit too high because of unknown leaks but if you hold many connections, downloads and uploads you can expect numbers well over 150 threads.

The firewall icon is buggy in Phex, it is a know problem since some time. But since its only a visuall problem not much effort is made to fix this yet. You can be sure even with firewall icon Phex is able to accept incomming connections and upload requests when your port is forwarded correctly.

The window position and size should be retained, also the width of table columns. In case it is not working for you, it might be a platform specific problem somewhere.

Gregor

Well you have to change a line in info.plist found in Phex.app->Contents
At the line
<string>1.4*</string>
change that line to
<string>1.4+</string>

Phex should now use default JVM.

LODR, you can open and save the file in TextEdit

GregorK, can you change that in Phex Os x project?

Ciao

Great info... I must admit I'm a noob in OSX ;)
But I changed it in the osx build process, it should be in the next release.

Thanks et voilà it worked like a treat. I'm using Phex 2.8.4_93, I must have opened the earlier version by mistake yesterday. I thought it looked a little different to the previous occasion. :D It seems to work a little better than 2.6.4 also re: search results, though that might just have been the timing, peers, etc..

2.8.10 should run fin on OSX with Java 1.4.2. Can you try to raise the memory Java is allowed to use with Phex. I think Arne was having similar issues back when he used OSX.
Try to start Phex like this:
java -Xmx256m -jar phex.jar
Which will allows 256MB RAM to be used for Java heap space...
If that would be too much for your system, anything above 64 will give Java more maximum heap space then the default setting.

I ran 2.8.10 in OS 10.3.9 (Java 1.4.2) without crash but it didn't connect .... needed to find out the port I opened for it in router so I had to reboot into 10.4.8 Will recheck soon. 1st time I had run it in that installation of 10.3.9

Well this is a Java only way of telling that you allow the Java VM to allocate more Heap memory... its not Mac specific.
Sometimes when the heap fills up close to its limits the Java VM has to do a lot cleanup processing and can become slow... not sure if this is a memory leak or just a higher heap usage in the latest release. Apperently VMs on different plattforms can deal more or less good with this situation.

The crash you posted is most likely not Phex related, most crashes are due to Java bug or incompatibilities with driver, os libraries or these things..

AFAIK the Java for OSX is not that efficient. Memory leaks or threads not giving up memory used. That was probably more evident in Java 1.4.2 for mac. Just my 2 cents. Not sure how that should apply to launching however.

For what it's worth ... I rebooted into 10.3.9 & changed to appropriate port for Phex to match router setting, & bingo ... immediate connection ... no firewall issue. And opened up nicely & behaved nicely.

I then rebooted into 10.4.8 (with Java 1.5) & bingo, Phex immediately connected "healthily" with no firewall icon issue. Nice set of connections too for both OS's but even a couple better now. That's better than the previous versions which were slowish to wake up to an open port. So far thread use is consistent at 58-59 & VM is also consistent at 430-40 MB. Good version!!! :) Will see how it behaves after days of use. A good long busy session to test it out. :D :tease:

Maybe's OAH's Apple G3 architecture is getting a bit 'long in the tooth' to handle the newer ...

I 1st started using LimeWire on a G3 4-5 years ago. And it struggled due to the Java in OS 8.5 which I was unable to update at the time. :rolleyes: (won't explain why lol). I can't remember if I tried Phex at that time or not. I tried one or 2 others without success. For many months before LW I was using Myster. G3 is really a bit slow nowadays. Not that I don't still use one because I do for scanning. (I was talked out of upgrading the scanner a year or 2 ago. lol)

No probs, I started that way, too :)

To start Phex that way, you need to open the "Terminal" and navigate to the Phex Program ( gets you into a folder. Pressing tab lets the system do autocompletion, gets you into the Phex.app bundle).

Then you need to enter the Folder "Resources" in Phex.app, therein the folder "Java". In there you can then use the code:
, which will start Phex with more heap-space.

I hope I got everything right.... it's a long time since I last used MacOSX :)

So who is doing the mac version/conversion for Phex? I thought you were. :confused:

We automated the process when I switched to Linux completely.

Which means: We need new MacOSX testers.

So if you find any bugs, just post them :)

(we now have a board for that, after all :) )

That's good news!

It seems Java on OSX got a lot faster, or that machine just is a powerhorse :)

I wonder if it would do as well with several thousand shares, heaps of incompletes, instead of a virgin trial. :D BTW I need a G5 dual processor for testing also. Can anybody donate toward my cause. lol :D

Here's the starting point http://store.apple.com/133-622/WebOb...95&nclm=MacPro Just press the configure button. :lmao:

As long as you are not connected to the network sharing many files should only make a difference memory wise. In case you are connected to the network the performance would suffer depending on the number of searches hitting your node. Also the user interface is not very happy about displaying many shared files...

For downloads, performance "should" not be much different when you have 2 downloads with many candidates or 100 downloads with many incompletes and candidates. The only difference is higher memory use... and you should keep it from swapping of course..

You need to type "cd Resources" and then "cd Java".

("cd" means, 'get me into that folder')

If you still get a permission denied, try right-clicking the Phex.app and selecting userrights (close to the bottom), giving you all rights and applying them to all subfolders. (this is not secure, but it works most times).