Three Alternatives for Running Java Software

November 1996 / State Of The Art / Sun Gambles on Java Chips / Three Alternatives for Running Java Software

Java interpreters
Like a translator at the United Nations, Java interpreters translate Java bytecode into native instructions the CPU understands. Interpreters convert bytecode on-the-fly and must process the same code over and over again when you run the Java program. Java interpreters usually run slowly, sometimes at only 3-10 percent the speed of compiled C code.
Just-in-time (JIT) compilers
Just-in-time (JIT) compilers translate Java bytecode into native code like interpreters do, but they don't have to translate the same code over and over again because they cach e the native code. This can result in significant performance improvements, but sometimes a JIT compiler takes an unacceptable amount of time and memory to do its job.
Java chips
Dedicated Java processors, like those that will be based on Sun's picoJava core architecture, natively understand Java bytecode without the overhead of an interpreter or JIT compiler. Proponents say native-code processing and Java-centric optimizations yield the best possible performance for more complex Java applications that might be on the horizon.

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Matthew Wilson
My approach to software engineering is far more pragmatic than it is theoretical--and no language better exemplifies this than C++.

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