Souping Up Java

Feb. 3, 2003

Compiler improvements also make room for languages, like Java, in more compact environments, allowing it to be used where assembler, C, and C++ are king. In many cases, the optimizations are very similar to those being applied in 8- and 16-bit microcontroller compilers. For example, arithmetic operations in a register-based machine aren't performed on the Java stack, but instead employ processor registers. The resulting code is as fast and as compact as comparable C or C++ code.

In many instances, method invocation and new object creation can be optimized as well. Global optimization often provides static-type information, enabling optimizations that aren't possible when considering code on a function or class basis.

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William G. Wong

Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF

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I earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters in Computer Science from Rutgers University. I still do a bit of programming using everything from C and C++ to Rust and Ada/SPARK. I do a bit of PHP programming for Drupal websites. I have posted a few Drupal modules.

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