Unexpected OutOfMemoryError when allocating an array larger than the heap

This may be a jdk implementation difference.

Your docs point to Oracle site, but you are not using Oracle JDK. Your OpenJDK implementation may handle this exception differently, so you don't get Requested array size exceeds VM limit exception.

Some info from my zulu-11 jdk ArrayList.java implementation:

/**
 * The maximum size of array to allocate (unless necessary).
 * Some VMs reserve some header words in an array.
 * Attempts to allocate larger arrays may result in
 * OutOfMemoryError: Requested array size exceeds VM limit
 */
private static final int MAX_ARRAY_SIZE = Integer.MAX_VALUE - 8;

The documentation cited, Understand the OutOfMemoryException,

Exception in thread thread_name: java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Requested array size exceeds VM limit

Cause: The detail message "Requested array size exceeds VM limit" indicates that the application (or APIs used by that application) attempted to allocate an array that is larger than the heap size. For example, if an application attempts to allocate an array of 512 MB, but the maximum heap size is 256 MB, then OutOfMemoryError will be thrown with the reason “Requested array size exceeds VM limit."

Action: Usually the problem is either a configuration issue (heap size too small) or a bug that results in an application attempting to create a huge array (for example, when the number of elements in the array is computed using an algorithm that computes an incorrect size).

...is incorrect.

What "requested array size exceeds VM limit" message really means is that there is an limit imposed by the implementation of the JVM. Exceeding this limit will always cause the failure, no matter how much heap space is available. An OutOfMemoryError with this message occurs if an there is an attempt to allocate an array with close to Integer.MAX_VALUE elements. (This is not a fixed limit. See below.)

By contrast, an OutOfMemoryError with the "Java heap space" message means that the request could have been fulfilled if circumstances were different: for example, if less memory were used by other objects, or if the JVM's maximum heap size were increased.

I've repurposed bug JDK-8254804 to fix the documentation in question.

There is a comment that seems relevant in ArraysSupport.java:

/**
 * The maximum length of array to allocate (unless necessary).
 * Some VMs reserve some header words in an array.
 * Attempts to allocate larger arrays may result in
 * {@code OutOfMemoryError: Requested array size exceeds VM limit}
 */
public static final int MAX_ARRAY_LENGTH = Integer.MAX_VALUE - 8;

Note that this is in library code, not in the Hotspot JVM code. It's the library code's conservative guess for an array size that doesn't exceed the limit that might be imposed by the JVM. The problem is that the JVM's maximum array size limit might vary depending on different circumstances, such as the garbage collector in use, whether the JVM is running in 32-bit or 64-bit mode, or even the JVM (Hotspot or other) upon which it is running. The library needs to be a bit conservative here because it needs to run on different JVMs in different circumstances, and there's no standardized interface to the JVM that returns the "maximum allowed array size." (Indeed, such a concept is potentially ill-defined, as the maximum array size might differ for different array types, or it might change from one moment to the next.)