> > > I started to use jikes and like it very much. So I started to wonder,
> > > what are the disadvantages to use jikes instead of javac (SUN or
> > > Blackdown)? What not to use only jikes?
> >
> > Besides the fact that it generates a binary that runs on only one
> > platform?
>
> I think you are getting Jikes confused with GCJ, the GNU
> Java compiler project.
Which, by the way, is starting to act more and more real.
GCC developer snapshots now include a working version; that
is a quantum leap in accessibility. RedHat and Debian both
include precompiled versions; I've used RedHat's.
My own experience with GCJ is positive. For many things it's
faster than Hotspot, and the startup time is where it ought
to be (invisible). I've not needed features that it doesn't
have ... and of course, as Free Software it can goes to CPUs
where Sun's implementation fears to go. I don't know how
well its bytcode interpreter works, but one's there.
Think of GCJ as an ahead-of-time JIT (!) that's Free Software,
uses all the optimizations available to GCC 3.0, and moreover
lets you use conventional software distribution technologies
in common cases where they make sense. (Think of compiling
as bytecode obfuscation, so you get two features at once!)
It won't fit into Lego Mindstorms robots, though.
- Dave
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