Using Java In Low Latency Environments

twofishy writes "Something I've noticed amongst financial service companies in London is a growing use of Java in preference to C/C++ for exchange systems, High Frequency Trading and over low-latency work. InfoQ has a good written panel discussion with Peter Lawrey, Martin Thompson, Todd L. Montgomery and Andy Piper. From the article: 'Often the faster an algorithm can be put into the market, the more advantage it has. Many algorithms have a shelf life and quicker time to market is key in taking advantage of that. With the community around Java and the options available, it can definitely be a competitive advantage, as opposed to C or C++ where the options may not be as broad for the use case. Sometimes, though, pure low latency can rule out other concerns. I think currently, the difference in performance between Java and C++ is so close that it's not a black and white decision based solely on speed. Improvements in GC techniques, JIT optimizations, and managed runtimes have made traditional Java weaknesses with respect to performance into some very compelling strengths that are not easy to ignore.'"

Comments

Troll much, slashdot?

[girlintraining]

I think currently, the difference in performance between Java and C++ is so close that...

Okay, clearly the new batch of slashdot editors have absolutely no programming ability whatsoever. They also must have missed that slashdot story about how Facebook undertook a massive campaign to translate their PHP code into C/C++ executable to speed up performance. Java is a lightweight language. It cannot, and will not ever be as fast as C/C++ because it is an run time interpreted language that additionally runs in a virtual machine.

I am forced to conclude that the slashdot editors are trolling us by approving such a patently absurd and idiotic article.

Re:Troll much, slashdot?

[Anonymous Coward]

Everyone is forgetting two of the most important aspects: training and cost. It takes a lot more time and money to train a C++ developer to outperform a Java developer. With equal training, I'd assume the Java developer will develop faster and produce more maintainable code. But I'm not a C++ master so I'm not 100% sure.

Yes

[AdmV0rl0n]

Thats exactly what I would do. I'd take the most insecure, badly run, malware and virus vector based language and embed deeply in sensitive and financial systems.
Why not? What can possibly go wrong.

I wonder when Java will be able to be updated by an admin account via a standard user account on Windows. But then I wonder when Oracle will wake up and smell the coffee.