So I have recently been learning java and everywhere I go I hear that java is a slow language compared to C or c++. I know that when it came out in the 90's that it was a lot slower, but I was wondering how much slower is it today. Also when writing java programs do you ever really run into issues with how slow it is?
GreenDay2001
Well performance is hardly an issue for most applications(as its unnoticeable). Java is being successfully used in several areas. I'm not a good/experienced Java programmer, but the reason people use languages like Java, C#, Python is the increased productivity.
You can search for benchmarks or make yourself and see. The reason Java is slower than C/C++ is because Java is compiled into Bytecode which is interpreted during runtime by JVM. C/C++ on other hand is compiled to native code(the machine code you call).
If some Java application needs performance boost in specific areas, you can write those part in C and interface it with jav using JNI.
zachf632 13 Newbie Poster
ah thanks that clears a lot up.
JamesCherrill 4,733 Most Valuable Poster Team Colleague Featured Poster
It's a myth that Java is slow. The JRE is highly optimised and performs comparably to ordinary C++ code. Only in the most performance-critical CPU-intensive tasks will you see any real benefit from properly tuned C++
Have a look at
http://scribblethink.org/Computer/javaCbenchmark.html
that was 2004, but the JRE has only improved since then.
Tellalca 19 Posting Whiz in Training
Hmm why not test yourself. Write a test application that does the things with standard libraries and primitive constructs.
The problem with Java is not running slow but memory usage I think. You can watch and read what Stroustrup explains about Java, C# and C++.
pseudorandom21 166 Practically a Posting Shark
I don't normally opt to use applications written in Java because they seem to not be as responsive on my system. If an application written in a different language is available I normally choose it.
If one day soon bleeding-edge PC games are written in Java I will be surprised, but until then I think C/C++ is really the performance king.
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