Is Java too slow for scientific computations/visualizations?
No. The Java byte-code and virtual machine concept has been criticized as sacrificing speed for platform independence and safety. However, clever advancements and implementations are continually closing the gap between virtual machine based languages and natively compiled codes – notably Just In Time (JIT) compilation and Hotspot optimization. As important as the numerical computation time is the efficiency of the graphics subsystem displaying the computation results. The Java graphics system has received a great deal of attention and its efficiency is constantly being improved by Java implementors, the introduction of Swing, and improvements in thread scheduling and memory management. We believe that this steady progress in interpretation speed and graphics efficiency has made Java a leading platform for scientific computation and visualization. Further information on Java and scientific computations can be accessed from the Links page of this web site.
