need to focus on java performance?

[Per Bothner]

What with the Harmony project, and possible sometime-in-the-future
open-sourcing of JDK, we need to think about how can gcj "compete".
I think we need to start focusing more on performace (both speed
and footprint), and otherwise "leverage" of the advantages of
ahead-of-time-compiling.  I know Tom has been experimenting with
some optimization passes, and I think that is a good start. But
it would be great if we could honestly say that for most applications
gcj is noticably faster than the alternatives.  That may require a
more concerted effort.  The question is whether the resources can be
found for serious optimization work.

One thing worth considering is "whole-package" compilation: a
compilation option to say that there are no other classes in
the package(s) we're currently compiling.  That means that we
know all references to any default-access (package-private)
fields, methods, and classes, which could enable some worthwhile
optimizations.
-- 
	--Per Bothner
per@bothner.com   http://per.bothner.com/