Understanding max JVM heap size - 32bit vs 64bit

Question

I\'ve read the max heap size on 32bit Windows is ~1.5GB which is due to the fact that the JVM requires contiguous memory. Can someone explain the concept of \"contiguous me

Answer 1

Contiguous simply means "without gaps", one long single segment. The amount is limited by how large a segment the OS can map for your process. Whether Java requires a contiguous heap or not is an implementation issue specific to JVM and may not exist for other VMs.