Subject: Re: Re[2]: [linux-audio-dev] LAAGA proposal, part ??
From: Jay Ts (jay_AT_toltec.metran.cx)
Date: Sun Jun 10 2001 - 21:59:37 EEST
SH> On Fri, Jun 08, 2001 at 04:08:31PM -0700, Simon Per Soren Kagedal wrote:
>> On Fri, Jun 08, 2001 at 12:05:15PM +0100, Steve Harris wrote:
>> > Just incase anyone thinks Java is a stupid example I did a test with gcj.
>> > It's performance on dsp-type code is withing spitting distance of c++'s.
>>
>> Hey, that's excellent! What about gcj's garbage collector? Is it
>> friendly to realtime stuff?
SH> I doubt it, but it probably doesn't go away and do things unbidden.
The problem with garbage collectors is that in most cases, they are
implemented in a way that is obscured from the programmer, oh, or
should I say, "handled automatically". Every garbage collection
implementation has by design "gone away and done things unbidden".
Big things that take a lot of time, in fact.
For realtime programming, it would be important that the garbage
collector be put under control of the programmer. C already
has a way of doing this: free(). ;-)
I don't know as much as I should about Java to be writing this, but
when I've Java programmers about this in the past, they've said,
"Oh, sure Java can be used for audio." But when pressed about the
garbage collection issue, they have told me that it is not possible
for the programmer to control it explicitly. As far as I'm concerned,
this disqualifies Java for realtime (incl. audio) programming. It
simply isn't acceptable to have the runtime system (garbage collector)
cut in at random moments to perform huge tasks before anything else
is allowed to happen.
If anyone knows more, and can tell me for sure that I'm mistaken,
I'd very much welcome your comments!
- Jay Ts
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