Java support for data-intensive systems: Experiences building the telegraph dataflow system

Database system designers have traditionally had trouble with the default s ervices and interfaces provided by operating systems. In recent years, deve lopers and enthusiasts have increasingly promoted Java as a serious platfor m for building data-intensive servers. Java provides a number of very helpf ul language features, as well as a full run-time environment reminiscent of a traditional operating system. This combination of features and community support raises the question of whether Java is better or worse at supporti ng data-intensive server software than a traditional operating system coupl ed with a weakly-typed language such as C or C++. In this paper, we summarize and discuss our experience building the Telegra ph dataflow system in Java. We highlight some of the pleasures of coding wi th Java, and some of the pains of coding around Java in order to obtain goo d performance in a data-intensive server. For those issues that were painfu l, we present concrete suggestions for evolving Java's interfaces to better suit serious software systems development. We believe these experiences ca n provide insight for other designers to avoid pitfalls we encountered and to decide if Java is a suitable platform for their system.