Java versus C++ Performance

Recently, I came across an interesting discussion of C++ versus Java performance over on Stack Exchange. There was also some good discussion of the article on Reddit which included a link to an interesting article from Google.

The Liquid Metal Project

One of the most interesting projects I came across at PLDI/ECOOP in Beijing was the Liquid Metal project being developed at IBM’s TJ Watson Research Center. From the Liquid Metal homepage:

Flow Typing for References in Whiley

The Whiley language splits into a fully functional “core” and an imperative “outer layer”. References and objects do not exist within the functional core. However, they can exist within the imperative outer layer and are necessary for supporting state and other side-effecting computation.

Variable Scoping for Try-Catch Blocks in Whiley

A friend of mine was talking about how variable scoping for try-catch blocks in Java really frustrated him sometimes. Specifically, the problem was related to variables declared inside try blocks not being visible in their catch handlers.

Are Checked Exceptions Always Caused by I/O?

Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Eclipse and trying to build a plugin. On the whole, I have to confess,* I find that Eclipse is an extremely well-designed and considered piece of software*.