4 ms·

I disagree. There's a reason your OS, your browser, your shell, your word processor, etc. are written in C and or C++ not to mention your JVM, python, perl, yo

I disagree. There's a reason your OS, your browser, your shell, your word processor, etc. are written in C and or C++ not to mention your JVM, python, perl, your favorite libraries, etc. It's not "momentum", it's "track record". Yes, you can shoot yourself in the foot with C/C++. Experts know this and manage not to maim themselves. Java has improved ... a lot ... no doubt but the " 20-50%" is a tad hyperbolic. Yes, repeatedly calling the same function (who's internals are in C) with Java sometimes you can get to with 20%. And , of course, carefully crafted java routines can beat naive, sloppy C sometimes. Back in the day, Java proponents promised us the Javagator [ http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/1998/04/11458 http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/1998/04/11458 ]. Don't hold your breath for a competitive Java browser. The speed and small foot print of C/C++ will continue to be edge giving it almost all the market share.

greenyoda 13y ago
There's another huge problem with writing a browser in Java (or any other JVM-based language), which is that your browser would be dependent on the user installing the JVM, which is a separate product from a separate company that has a separate release cycle (and lots of security updates to deal with). It's hard enough to support a browser like Firefox or Chrome without dealing with issues like the user having Java 1.5 installed but the current version of the browser requires Java 1.6 or above. For a non-technical user who barely knows the difference between their browser and their operating system, there are huge obstacles in supporting software built on top of the JVM.
- Arelius 13y ago
  I feel that additionally there is some user resistance to installing and using the JVM. It may be minor, but I do know some people that won't touch eclipse with a 10 foot pole due to that.
- Gravityloss 13y ago
  You could just supply the jvm with the browser. Most browsers autoupdate nowadays silently in the background anyway.
sidww2 13y ago
According to the programming language shootout it seems it's close to the right range -- The median speed of Java 7 is twice as slow as C++. It also meshes well with my experience -- though I can only get "close" to C++ performance if I use mostly primitive types.

greenyoda 13y ago

There's another huge problem with writing a browser in Java (or any other JVM-based language), which is that your browser would be dependent on the user installing the JVM, which is a separate product from a separate company that has a separate release cycle (and lots of security updates to deal with). It's hard enough to support a browser like Firefox or Chrome without dealing with issues like the user having Java 1.5 installed but the current version of the browser requires Java 1.6 or above. For a non-technical user who barely knows the difference between their browser and their operating system, there are huge obstacles in supporting software built on top of the JVM.

Arelius 13y ago
I feel that additionally there is some user resistance to installing and using the JVM. It may be minor, but I do know some people that won't touch eclipse with a 10 foot pole due to that.
Gravityloss 13y ago
You could just supply the jvm with the browser. Most browsers autoupdate nowadays silently in the background anyway.

sidww2 13y ago

According to the programming language shootout it seems it's close to the right range -- The median speed of Java 7 is twice as slow as C++. It also meshes well with my experience -- though I can only get "close" to C++ performance if I use mostly primitive types.