Infoworld: Sun considers Apple code for Java VM

Sun is considering including some Apple-written code in a Sun Java Virtual Machine (VM) to boost performance, according to an Infoworld article.

The story quotes Kenneth Tallman, Sun Java program manager, as saying Apple has developed virtual machine improvements that it has made available to Sun. It’s “some code” and apparently in the resource-sharing area, he added.

“We are currently evaluating it to determine its usefulness,” Tallman told Infoworld. “And if in fact it does turn out to be useful, we will look into incorporating it into the product.”

Apple Java Product Manager Alan Denison told the publication that the company has modified Sun’s Java HotSpot VM to boost loading speed and reduce memory consumption. The modified VM is part of Mac OS X, Denison said. Modifications involve improvements to shared system libraries.

“We’ve optimized the amount of space that those system libraries take up by mapping them into memory at run time,” Denison told Infoworld. “This reduces the amount of time [required] to load those applications in.”

Denison told Macworld UK earlier this week that Apple has the best implementation of Java. He called Mac OS X “the killer platform for developing Java applications.” Denison also pointed out that Apple includes Java and all developer tools with every Mac.