Ask HN: Is the JVM deprecated in the x86-64 world?

2 pointsmbrzusto10y ago3 comments

In the past world of Sparc, Risc, x486, x86-64, Itanium, etc ... the JVM seemed like a great solution to the problem of recompiling code for different CPU targets. But in today's world of cloud based commodity hardware can't we just optimize for x86-64 (C/C++) and be done with it? "Write once, deploy everywhere" has come full circle.

3 comments

higherpurpose10y ago

What about ARM and POWER? Google is deploying Power in its data center and I thin Nvidia is working on POWER CPUs for datacenters/supercomputers (they are both members of the recently formed "OpenPOWER Alliance").

As for ARM, I know there's a big reluctance to use ARM for the big names, because "meh, x86 is almost as good and we already have all the tools for it". But I think ARM is going to grow in a grassroots kind of way, from the very low-end (Raspberry Pi) and up. It will happen slowly, but a decade from now I think ARM will have a decent market share in the server market. x86 didn't kill the previous architecture in the enterprise overnight either - it took 2-3 decades to displace most of them.

giaour10y ago

Even if there were only one important CPU architecture in the world, you would still have to deal with multiple operating systems.

dragonwriter10y ago

x86-64 isn't the only platform that matters today (as higherpurpose notes, ARM and POWER are significant in various spheres), and its relative dominance in the mainstream of the market isn't guaranteed to be enduring.

The kind of native-platform independence that the JVM offers may be less important right now than it was when Java was introduced, but it hasn't completely stopped having a point.

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