3.1 Comparison to Traditional Methods

The continuous compilation model is an attempt to combine the benefits of the traditional interpretation and compilation models. With the continuous compiler, we get all of the benefits of interpretation without sacrificing performance. These benefits include

1. immediate response to change in interactive environments,
2. platform independent format, and
3. smaller distribution file size (when comparing bytecodes to native executables).

In addition, with more time to spend on optimization, we have the possibility of ending up with a highly optimized, fully native-code version of a program that performs better than the binary that could be produced by a traditional compiler in the amount of time that we are willing to wait.

However, the question remains: how well does the continuous compiler perform in comparison to the traditional models? This thesis is an attempt to answer this question before paying the expense of developing such a system.

In conducting our study, we also examine various aspects of the continuous compilation model to determine their effect on the performance of the system. The next two sections describe the properties of the continuous compilation model that were thought most likely to affect performance.