GC Log File Name Can Append a Timestamp Beginning with Java SE 7u76 (Doc ID 2189493.1)

Last updated on OCTOBER 18, 2022

Applies to:

Symptoms

When using the  java command line argument -Xloggc to specify a GC log file name, it is often desirable to include the log file's creation date and time (timestamp) in the log file name.  This will prevent a log file from being overwritten upon a restart of the application.  The timestamp can be added to the log file name with the %t notation as follows:

 -Xloggc:gc-%t.log 

This works for Java SE 7 Update 76 (7u76) and newer updates, as well as all updates of Java SE 8, where the expected timestamp is entered in the log file name.  For example:

gc-2016-09-29_17-47-35.log

However, trying to use it in older versions causes the "%t" to be included verbatim in the log file as follows:

gc-%t.log

Cause

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