Optimizing Java

Chapter 14. High-Performance Logging and Messaging

When compared to languages such as C++, the use of Java and the JVM is sometimes considered a tradeoff. Java has achieved increased productivity by reducing the number of lower-level concerns a developer must deal with in day-to-day development. The perceived tradeoff is higher-level language abstraction, leading to increased developer productivity at the expense of low-level control and raw performance.

C++ takes the approach that regardless of any new language features, performance must never be compromised. The C++ philosophy leads to a sophisticated level of control, at the cost that every developer has to manage resources manually or conform to appropriate idioms.

The Java platform takes the approach that the developer should be free from concerns about the low-level details. The benefit of automatic memory management should not be underestimated as a huge productivity boost—the authors have spent many years witnessing the mistakes that can be made and damage done by an unwitting C++ developer, and still have the scars.

However, garbage collection and other higher-level managed abstractions on the JVM can cause a level of unpredictability where performance is concerned. This nondeterminism is, naturally, something that should be minimized in latency-sensitive applications.

Warning

Does this mean that Java and the JVM is not a suitable platform for high-performance systems?

This chapter aims to explore some common concerns ...