RE: Java performance

> From: Bob Cozzi
>
> Fast Java
> An Oxymoron?
>
> I can't believe people are actually using the painfully slow runtime to
> build new applications. Sure for utilities, or some web stuff it's okay.
> But my gosh, are we nuts trying to get the user community to move to
> this stuff?

Fast is a relative term, Bob.  I guess it depends on what you're trying to
do.

Java is an excellent language for designing and extending middleware.  OO
techniques are best suited for transformations - moving data from one form
to another.  As I type this, I'm running a stress test of 50 users
simultaneously running what were originally 5250 programs, all on a
zero-interactive model 270 (with 3 second delay between enter keys, I'm
getting a 900ms response time - not too shabby).  Having done something
similar in C, I can guarantee that the overall work involved - roughly three
man-years - is far less than what I would have had to do in C, much less
trying the same thing in RPG.

On the other hand, I wouldn't even attempt to design an MRP generation in
Java.  While I might be able to do it, the chances are that changes in
business logic would so often require reworking my class hierarchy that I'd
spend more time fixing existing code than adding new functions.

It's a question of problem set definition, and then assigning the
appropriate tools.  Unfortunately, people sometimes get the idea that each
new tool is the cure for all programming ills, when the truth is that we
should be using each tool to do the job for which it is best suited.

Joe