4 ms·

He calls that out though "even if you're only running perl scripts". It's not the cross-compilation that's a factor, it's wanting the environment to be as simil

He calls that out though "even if you're only running perl scripts". It's not the cross-compilation that's a factor, it's wanting the environment to be as similar as possible. Even if your code is Java bytecode, that's still running on a different build of the JVM, on a different build of the OS (possibly a different OS). There is opportunity for different errors to crop up. They might be rare, but they'll be surprising and costly when they happen exactly because of that.

MaxBarraclough 8y ago
The question then is how successful the JVM is. I think you're underestimating it. Torvalds' attitude is certainly justified regarding plenty of other types of software though -- just building a C++ project on a different distro can be a pain. Someone else [0] points out that Java (in the right context at least) is so successful in isolating the developer from the underlying platform, that it isn't a problem if the developer isn't even permitted to know what OS/hardware their code will run on. Could they accidentally write code that depends on some quirk of the underlying platform? I think it's not that likely. Nowhere near as likely as in C/C++, where portability is a considerable uphill battle that takes skill and attention on the part of the developer. > They might be rare, but they'll be surprising and costly when they happen exactly because of that. Ok, but you can say the same for routine software updates. It's a question of degree. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19229224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19229224