Attempts to import a large CSV file with close to 50 thousand rows of data as datapool in IBM Rational Performance Tester (RPT) results in the error "Unhandled event loop exception java.lang.OutOfMemoryError".
Steps to Reproduce:
- Start RPT
- Right-Click the project you want to import the CSV file and select Import
- Choose Test > CSV File as Datapool to import the CSV file
Expected result: The file import succeeds.
Actual result: PRT fails to import the file with the following error.
Unhandled event loop exception
This is caused by a resource limitation of the 32 bit JVM on Windows. RPT, even if it is installed in 64 bit operating systems, runs as 32 bit mode which is bound to a maximum of 1500 MB of memory for the RPT workbench. Given the size of a large CSV file, it is exhausting the available memory of the workbench system. This resource limitation is based on the architecture of the tool.
Resolving the problem
Option 1: Break up the single CSV file into multiple smaller files keeping the structure of the files the same (that is, with the same number of columns) and import them separately.
Option 2: Use custom code to access the CSV file and extract the value programmatically, instead of using the built in datapool functionality.