When to use a compilation service?

摘要

Modern handheld computers are certainly capable of running general purpose applications, such as Java virtual machines. However, short battery life rather than computational capability often limits the usefulness of handheld computers. This paper considers how to reduce the energy consumption of Java applications.Broadly speaking, there are three interleaved steps in running Java programs in a compiled environment: downloading the bytecodes, compiling and possibly optimizing the bytecodes, and running the compiled code. Optimized code typically runs faster than non-optimized code but the optimization process itself may consume significant energy. We consider the possibility of moving compilation (optimizing or non-optimizing) to a tethered server. We demonstrate that there is a significant benefit to moving compilation to a server (up to 67% reduction in energy for a realistic handheld configuration). We also demonstrate that there is no single best compilation strategy for all methods.