How to get better memory settings for Eclipse on Mac OS X
In Eclipse 3.1M6, the default memory settings were increased. This was done by putting in the eclipse.ini file:
-vmargs -Xms40m -Xmx256m
This probably works on Windows, Linux, and other platforms, but not on the Mac. So when you launch 3.1M6 on the Mac, you'll get the old, sub-optimal memory settings:
-Xms30M -Xmx150M
How to increase the memory settings?
Well, you could do it via the command line. But a nicer, more Mac-oriented way is to open up the Eclipse.app package, by control-clicking or right-clicking on the Eclipse icon in Finder and then choosing "Show Package Contents." Then navigate into Contents. Then double-click the Info.plist file. This should open up the Property List Editor.
Expand the tree to get to Root/Eclipse. Then change -Xms30M and -Xmx150M to your preferred memory settings. The Eclipse Team suggests 40M to start and 256M as the max.
I like to push it to the limit. I also tend to work with large projects. And I've got a lot of RAM: 1.5GB in my 17" PowerBook. Eventually I will probably swap out the 512MB chip with another 1GB chip to get up to 2GB, which is the max for PowerBooks. BTW, more RAM definitely improves the computing experience, on any platform. So, I like to start with 256M and make the max something like 512, yielding the arguments:
-Xms256Mand
-Xmx512MExtreme? Maybe. But if Eclipse is your main work environment and you've got a lot of RAM, then I think it makes sense.
(Thanks to both Marcelo and Kim for pointing this out on the Eclipse Mac group.)