OS 10.4 - Why do applications use so much virtual memory
I have a MacBook Pro with 1 gig of memory. I was looking in the system monitor and I'm wondering why on earth do such small programs like gmail notifier, grab, and adium take up almost 350 megs of VM each. Is this this normal?
I think it's just a precaution of the system - the programs don't actually use the vm until the RAM space becomes too little, but in case it's needed the system reserves it ahead of time.
I might be wrong, but that's what I think it's doing.
Mac Specs: MacBook 2.0GHz White, 512MB RAM, 60GB HDD
Aptmunich is correct - the full reported VM size is not the amount of RAM currently being USED by the application, but merely the amount earmarked for its use. If RAM constraints become such that some is required for a different application, the memory earmarked for one application may be moved to another to satisfy the need. The actual application size is given in the 'real memory' column, as this signifies the allocated memory.
