Reducing transfer delay using Java class file splitting and prefetching

The proliferation of the Internet is fueling the development of mobile comp uting environments in which mobile code is executed on remote sites. In suc h environments, the end user must often wait while the mobile program is tr ansferred from the server to the client where it executes. This downloading can create significant delays, hurting the interactive experience of users . We propose Java class file splitting and class file prefetching optimizatio ns in order to reduce transfer delay. Class file splitting moves the infreq uently used part of a class file into a corresponding cold class file to re duce the number of bytes transferred Java class file prefetching is used to overlap program transfer delays with program execution. Our splitting and prefetching compiler optimizations do not require any change to the Java Vi rtual Machine, and thus can be used with existing Java implementations. Cla ss file splitting reduces the startup time for Java programs by 10% on aver age, and class file splitting used with prefetching reduces the overall tra nsfer delay encountered during a mobile program's execution by 25% to 30% o n average.