Re: Article on OpenOffice using GCJ

[Linuxhippy <linuxhippy at web dot de>]

There are also benefits for the user, namely:

* Extremly fast start, if you use some java-based stuff in OpenOffice 
you'll have to wait about 10s till the Java runtime is started up, 
whereas GCJ's libgcj is loaded in next-to-null time. Another benefit is 
that you get descent performance with GCJ from the beginning whereas 
SUN's java needs some time to become fast.
* Lower memory footprint: Since you don't need a Java runtime there is a 
lot less overhead -> the user needs less ram.
* GCJ is guaranteed to be free, no possibility to become vendor locked
* Portability: Since OOo's key functionality is almost completly based 
on C++ you'll have to recompile it anyway if you want to use it on 
another OS/CPU architecture. Only a handful platforms are supported by 
commercial JRE vedors like SUN, IBM or BEA whereas GCJ is supported on a 
very wide range of hardware / operating system combinations.

lg Clemens


> Might also be good to note how OpenOffice is dependent
> on Java now for some key functionality.  Not certain that
> Ingrid understands that given the phrase "once built will
> run independently".

> Hi Ingrid!
>
> > I'm interested in writing an article on the version of OpenOffice using
> > GCJ that FSF is developing. What is GCJ being used for? -
> GCJ is a general puprose Java-Compiler that is able to compile java 
> source code into directly executable programs, it works like any 
> traditional C/C++ comiler. Compared to SUN you do not need a 
> rutime-enviroment, nor is there an platform abstraction layer like 
> bytecode.
>
> > You say it is
> > being used to build and run OpenOffice, why is GCJ needed to run
> > OpenOffice. Surely once OpenOffice has been built it will run
> > independently?
> >  
> GCJ will not be needed to run OOo, since gcj compiles the code unlike 
> a traditional Java virtual machine, so the code is able to run on the 
> platform it was built for withough an abstraction layer like a virtual 
> machine.
> The drawback is that the code is not compile-once-run-everywhere but 
> more write-once-run-everywhere since you have to re-compile your code 
> if you want to target e.g. PowerPC instead of Pentium-Class machines.
>
> The only thing that will be needed to run a GCJ compiled OOo is 
> libgcj, a library containig the classes java-programmers use.
> Its no problem to bundle this library with OOo (its quite small), or 
> even link statically (copy the parts that are actually needed into OOo 
> instead of a seperate library).
>
> > Why have you decided to develop a separate version of OpenOffice? When
> > do you think you will have the first version of OpenOffice using GCJ?
> >  
> As far as I've understood the GNU/Java team is working together with 
> OOo to remove show-stoppers. But for "society" stuff I am devenitifly 
> the wring person ;-)
>
> lg Clemens