Question :
How can I tell if the JVM in which my application runs is 32 bit or 64-bit? Specifically, what functions or properties I can used to detect this within the program?
Solution:
For certain versions of Java, you can check the bitness of the JVM from the command line with the flags -d32 and -d64.
$ java -help
...
-d32 use a 32-bit data model if available
-d64 use a 64-bit data model if available
To check for a 64-bit JVM, run:
$ java -d64 -version
If it’s not a 64-bit JVM, you’ll get this:
Error: This Java instance does not support a 64-bit JVM.
Please install the desired version.
Similarly, to check for a 32-bit JVM, run:
$ java -d32 -version
If it’s not a 32-bit JVM, you’ll get this:
Error: This Java instance does not support a 32-bit JVM.
Please install the desired version.