I've recently learned about the -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError VM argument and was told that it should be added as a matter of course to the HotSpot JVM as it is off by default. One of my co-workers made a comment that maybe we shouldn't because he heard that there's some pitfall to doing this but he can't remember what it was. I hate vague statements like that, but am trying to do my due diligence before making a final decision so am doing some investigation.
Most of the references to it I can find are more about how to use it (and where the dump files are located) and don't speak to any issues with using it. This SO question refers to a different argument, but the answers seem relevant to this one as well and imply that there are no issues: Why is this Hotspot JVM option not the default? -XX:+PrintConcurrentLocks
Does anyone know of any reason not to turn -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError?
The main downside is that it creates a large file the each time a new program getting this error (the first time it happens for that JVM). If you have a heap of 2 GB, it could create a file that big each time, filling up disk space with heap dumps you don't need. Since its only useful for debugging/development purposes, it not useful for most end users.