Optimizing NET Compilers for Improved Java Performance

Cheng-Hsueh A. Hsieh, Marie T. Conte, Teresa L. Johnson, John C. Gyllenhaal, Wen-mei W. Hwu

Abstract: Because they are interpreted, Java executables run slower than their compiled counterparts. The native executable translation (NET) compiler's objective is to optimize the translation of Java byte-code to native machine code so that it runs nearly as fast as native code generated directly from a source. The article presents some preliminary results for several large application programs and standard benchmarks. It compares the NET-compiled code performance with Sun's Java VM, Microsoft's Java just-in-time compiler, and equivalent C and C++ programs directly compiled. The results show that the optimizing NET compiler is capable of achieving better performance than the two other byte-code execution methods, in some cases achieving speeds comparable to directly compiled native code.