[java] Speed of Different Programming Languages
Author
Note: I put this post in another forum too but there probably aren''t many people who know Java in the other one''s so I am looking for an answer mostly for Java here.
I know this should go in another forum but I want as many replies as possible. Even if you see a reply that is just what you are going to say, please add what you may have more.
This question is for a research project I am doing in school:
What is the speed difference between C, C++, and Java?
I mean in depth detail. I heard something in a post a while ago about C vs C++ and someone said something about C functions calls being faster. If anyone can explain why that would be greatly appreciated. Also if any one knows Java can someone tell me about why Java is slower than the other two languages. Also if you have any history(thought I have some) about the languages feel free to throw some in. Or if anyone knows a web site that has all the info or significantly chunked peices of it. Please tell me the URL. Thanks for your help.
"Ogun''s Laughter Is No Joke!!!" - Ogun Kills On The Right, A Nigerian Poem.
Anyone want to bet me that everyone that responds to this post in the other forum will say that java is interpreted and that it is always slower than c, blah blah blah?
You can tell the people who only use MS''s version of java because that is the response they always give. Even though ms provides a jit. Just In Time compiling compiles java to machine code. That''s right, machine code just like C or C++. You also shouldn''t compare C to java since c isn''t a object oriented language. As a bonus new java compilers can actually rearrange code to make it faster as it runs, which in certain cases actually makes java code run faster than c code. Of course the area where java blows other languages out of the water is development time. The number usually quoted is %30 faster.
The fanatic is incorruptible: if he kills for an idea, he can just as well get himself killed for one; in either case, tyrant or martyr, he is a monster.
--EM Cioran
Opere Citato
You can tell the people who only use MS''s version of java because that is the response they always give. Even though ms provides a jit. Just In Time compiling compiles java to machine code. That''s right, machine code just like C or C++. You also shouldn''t compare C to java since c isn''t a object oriented language. As a bonus new java compilers can actually rearrange code to make it faster as it runs, which in certain cases actually makes java code run faster than c code. Of course the area where java blows other languages out of the water is development time. The number usually quoted is %30 faster.
The fanatic is incorruptible: if he kills for an idea, he can just as well get himself killed for one; in either case, tyrant or martyr, he is a monster.
--EM Cioran
Opere Citato
Hi EbonySeraph!
First of all; are you considering Java as an implementation language for your research project? If so, I could give you some hints to webpages and so on. Or are you going to write about the speed differences between C, C++ and Java? In that case I must say that you shouldn´t compare C with either Java or C++. The C programming language is not an Object Oriented language like C++ and Java. (Actually, C++ is a hybrid language, which let you write both C functions and C++ methods.)
If you compare speed differences between these language you should also take other factors into account. Java contains several types of runtime controls that are not a part of C++ or C. For example, Java checks if you get outside an array. Thus, you get some more, but it cost some performances. There are lot of more "bonus stuff" in Java, that you do not get in C++ nor C.
Also, as mentioned earlier if you compare an implementation langugage for a project, you should also take into account the development time.
Regards
Johan
First of all; are you considering Java as an implementation language for your research project? If so, I could give you some hints to webpages and so on. Or are you going to write about the speed differences between C, C++ and Java? In that case I must say that you shouldn´t compare C with either Java or C++. The C programming language is not an Object Oriented language like C++ and Java. (Actually, C++ is a hybrid language, which let you write both C functions and C++ methods.)
If you compare speed differences between these language you should also take other factors into account. Java contains several types of runtime controls that are not a part of C++ or C. For example, Java checks if you get outside an array. Thus, you get some more, but it cost some performances. There are lot of more "bonus stuff" in Java, that you do not get in C++ nor C.
Also, as mentioned earlier if you compare an implementation langugage for a project, you should also take into account the development time.
Regards
Johan
Everything has a cost...
When you consider just in time compilers and hot spot like on-the-fly code optimzers, it becomes evident the only real speed loss comes from the garbage collection process. But one could say that garbage collector makes your development faster and your code memory leak free. So basically the time you gain with C++ at running time, means you spend more time at development and it gets more complex.
Also, I once saw an article at http://www.javaworld.com about the difference between C++ and Java when considering time to instanciate a new object. In fact it is an article about object-recycling mechanisms to actually deal with this speed loss over C++. I can''t remember the exact URL anyway. But as far as I remember it was saying something like the time to instanciate an object in Java in more than three times the time for C++.
Java is not the best language so far and I believe it will take time before Java will be able to catch with C in every situation. But I think for your study you should try and compare the gain in speed of each language for the same piece of code for the last 5 years. I mean I imagine (I said "imagine" because it is just speculation here) the execution time of the same piece of code of the same machine has been greatly improved in Java since the JDK 1.0.2, at least more than the same piece of code in C for the same period of time.
That''s what I think about speed and languages. Anyway, I just love coding in Java and since I discovered it three years ago, I just decided to code everything in Java (even if I used to be a C "geek" fanatic). I am so much in a habit to use Java (where everything is provided and you just code) that sometimes when I need to code in C (for school mainly) I think of it as an archaic language. And that''s another point : the speed of deployment. In java your deployment time is null, provided you just need a working Java runtime environment. You don''t need to configure/recompile and so which is another gain of time.
I hope all I said makes any sens.
Herve
When you consider just in time compilers and hot spot like on-the-fly code optimzers, it becomes evident the only real speed loss comes from the garbage collection process. But one could say that garbage collector makes your development faster and your code memory leak free. So basically the time you gain with C++ at running time, means you spend more time at development and it gets more complex.
Also, I once saw an article at http://www.javaworld.com about the difference between C++ and Java when considering time to instanciate a new object. In fact it is an article about object-recycling mechanisms to actually deal with this speed loss over C++. I can''t remember the exact URL anyway. But as far as I remember it was saying something like the time to instanciate an object in Java in more than three times the time for C++.
Java is not the best language so far and I believe it will take time before Java will be able to catch with C in every situation. But I think for your study you should try and compare the gain in speed of each language for the same piece of code for the last 5 years. I mean I imagine (I said "imagine" because it is just speculation here) the execution time of the same piece of code of the same machine has been greatly improved in Java since the JDK 1.0.2, at least more than the same piece of code in C for the same period of time.
That''s what I think about speed and languages. Anyway, I just love coding in Java and since I discovered it three years ago, I just decided to code everything in Java (even if I used to be a C "geek" fanatic). I am so much in a habit to use Java (where everything is provided and you just code) that sometimes when I need to code in C (for school mainly) I think of it as an archaic language. And that''s another point : the speed of deployment. In java your deployment time is null, provided you just need a working Java runtime environment. You don''t need to configure/recompile and so which is another gain of time.
I hope all I said makes any sens.
Herve
Hmm...
Ok, as far as I can uderstand the industry as a whole ( general numbers no fcts ) is that well tuned java is ~10-30% slower on average then C. There are also meny cases where java can perform the same task faster then ansi c code do. It''s way of handeling data and dynamic compilation to asm is why it can be faster. Calling virtual methods in OO can be costly, because each call requires at least one lookup, and at least one paramater to call the other function. It does add up, but thanks to Hot Spot those small functions whose startup costs eat a large portion of there execution time are often inlined so the cost is almost LESS then that of the C counterpart.
The other side of the coin that makes Java appealing is despite the 10-30% speed decrease, the freebies ( garbage collection, bounds checking, ... ) make java developemnt up to 50% faster ( assuming trained personel ) than the same sized C application.
Devils advocate: ( hey I''m a libra )
Java''s main weekness is not the language or the compiler, but in many of the support libraries. The are designed to hide too mich of the underlying system, making it more difficult to take advantage of tuning that''s availible in C programs. Java''s IO is not the best, in fact one of the hardest things is getting data into and out of the Java heap ( memory space ). note: Java.nio in 1.4 should make IO in java up to twice as fast, as it will no longer be necessary to copy external memory ( from libraries, system resources, file buffers,... ) into the java heap before your program can act on them. Java.nio also add a rich library of non-blocking IO channels, as well as a way of mapping IO so that the process can be automated by the system to be as fast as possible ( map this file channel to this network socket and do your stuff ).
Historicly languages also take time to develop, java has hit a real stride with the Java2 realease. It''s very big in the server market, and it''s popularity is growing in the client market. It''s really starting to come into it''s prime as a language. There are many addons that are popping up, and many exciting new features on the horizion.
You can alleviate many of the IO, and library problems by developing with platform specific libraries ( see demomaker thread ). I personally stay away from them because If I can scrape by with just pure ( or very close to it ) java, my applications will be portable directly to the macintosh, solaris, and linux with 0 modifications ( or any other java2 platform ). With the beta of 1.4 out there are almost no features that are missing from java2 ( there are still a few that sun just can''t seem to get right ).
Good luck, and if you have any other questions keep asking.
Ok, as far as I can uderstand the industry as a whole ( general numbers no fcts ) is that well tuned java is ~10-30% slower on average then C. There are also meny cases where java can perform the same task faster then ansi c code do. It''s way of handeling data and dynamic compilation to asm is why it can be faster. Calling virtual methods in OO can be costly, because each call requires at least one lookup, and at least one paramater to call the other function. It does add up, but thanks to Hot Spot those small functions whose startup costs eat a large portion of there execution time are often inlined so the cost is almost LESS then that of the C counterpart.
The other side of the coin that makes Java appealing is despite the 10-30% speed decrease, the freebies ( garbage collection, bounds checking, ... ) make java developemnt up to 50% faster ( assuming trained personel ) than the same sized C application.
Devils advocate: ( hey I''m a libra )
Java''s main weekness is not the language or the compiler, but in many of the support libraries. The are designed to hide too mich of the underlying system, making it more difficult to take advantage of tuning that''s availible in C programs. Java''s IO is not the best, in fact one of the hardest things is getting data into and out of the Java heap ( memory space ). note: Java.nio in 1.4 should make IO in java up to twice as fast, as it will no longer be necessary to copy external memory ( from libraries, system resources, file buffers,... ) into the java heap before your program can act on them. Java.nio also add a rich library of non-blocking IO channels, as well as a way of mapping IO so that the process can be automated by the system to be as fast as possible ( map this file channel to this network socket and do your stuff ).
Historicly languages also take time to develop, java has hit a real stride with the Java2 realease. It''s very big in the server market, and it''s popularity is growing in the client market. It''s really starting to come into it''s prime as a language. There are many addons that are popping up, and many exciting new features on the horizion.
You can alleviate many of the IO, and library problems by developing with platform specific libraries ( see demomaker thread ). I personally stay away from them because If I can scrape by with just pure ( or very close to it ) java, my applications will be portable directly to the macintosh, solaris, and linux with 0 modifications ( or any other java2 platform ). With the beta of 1.4 out there are almost no features that are missing from java2 ( there are still a few that sun just can''t seem to get right ).
Good luck, and if you have any other questions keep asking.
My humble $0.02,
The speed issues have been explored it seems but I just wanted to iterate one point (also already said): don''t forget deployement time. While not perfect Java brings consistent looking code and object oriented focus that''s much better thought out than MFC. Personally, I''ve enjoyed learning it. You''ll pay in speed but that is improving. You''ll be able to right better apps quicker and that is really what it comes down to.
Sieggy
The speed issues have been explored it seems but I just wanted to iterate one point (also already said): don''t forget deployement time. While not perfect Java brings consistent looking code and object oriented focus that''s much better thought out than MFC. Personally, I''ve enjoyed learning it. You''ll pay in speed but that is improving. You''ll be able to right better apps quicker and that is really what it comes down to.
Sieggy
The reason why java can be so much slower then c++, even when complied into machine code, is all the excess things it does to make the app stable and clean. Like stated before, it checks the end of arrays, well that''s only a small portion of what java does to help out. If you have a pointer pointing to some obj in memory, and you change what the pointer is pointing. So nothing is pointing to that obj, java automatically frees that space up. C and C++ on the other hand let the memory stay resevered. All this backend checking slows down the language because it makes sure that all this error control is in place. While in C and C++ the programmer can write his/her own control routines. While this saves memory (in being clean and not having variables keeping track of pointers and so on or unrelease memory) and dev time while c and c++ have always run faster because the application dosen''t do clean up unless it''s programmed. While c and c++ take alot of dev time and can be messy code, as far as i''m concerned i''d rather use c(mainly because i focus on game programming which needs speed).
>> So nothing is pointing to that obj, java automatically frees that space up. C and C++ on the other hand let the memory stay resevered. >>
Well, if a Java programmer wants to prevent the garbage collector from freeing up the memory of a certain unused object then they can just keep a bogus reference around for the object until the execution of the program reaches a stage where it is more appropriate to free up the object (just as C and C++ do). There are a lot of allocation-related optimizations like this in Java and I hear that Sun''s Hotspot compiler is getting pretty good at doing quick object allocation.
It''s quite hard to fairly compare the speed between the three languages. In order to do that you really need to know most of the optimizations and effective programming styles that can be applied to each of the languages.
Henry
Well, if a Java programmer wants to prevent the garbage collector from freeing up the memory of a certain unused object then they can just keep a bogus reference around for the object until the execution of the program reaches a stage where it is more appropriate to free up the object (just as C and C++ do). There are a lot of allocation-related optimizations like this in Java and I hear that Sun''s Hotspot compiler is getting pretty good at doing quick object allocation.
It''s quite hard to fairly compare the speed between the three languages. In order to do that you really need to know most of the optimizations and effective programming styles that can be applied to each of the languages.
Henry
Well I think Java is by far the nicest and easiest language to code in and has been Object Orientented from the begining. Being new it doesn''t have the hang ups that all the older languages do.
But soon computers will be so fast that it won''t matter what lang you code in....
On that note, the p4 1.4ghz pc I brought yesterday runs The new
Chaoslab verson 2 beta (not yet online) all in real time even with over 8 renders which are now all at 320x240....
:-)
But soon computers will be so fast that it won''t matter what lang you code in....
On that note, the p4 1.4ghz pc I brought yesterday runs The new
Chaoslab verson 2 beta (not yet online) all in real time even with over 8 renders which are now all at 320x240....
:-)
Well most of the stuff I was gonna say has already been said, which is cool, but one other thing to consider is neither C nor C++ is ''ground zero'' as far as speed is concerned. If you''re using Windows, find the masm assembler and you''ll be horrified at just how bloated everything(?) else is. There really is alot of misinformation on that.
The only thing I''ll add to this is the fact it really depends on the platform and implementation vs the language itself. When MS was touting VJ++, it actually proved FASTER then VC++ in at least one benchmark. (Programming Microsoft Visual J++ 6.0, Microsoft Press, pg 16-21) I''m not sure what machine they were using but on my old AMD K6-2 it was even more skewed toward VJ++.
The only thing I''ll add to this is the fact it really depends on the platform and implementation vs the language itself. When MS was touting VJ++, it actually proved FASTER then VC++ in at least one benchmark. (Programming Microsoft Visual J++ 6.0, Microsoft Press, pg 16-21) I''m not sure what machine they were using but on my old AMD K6-2 it was even more skewed toward VJ++.
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