This book addresses a vital issue for all those developing software for the Java(tm) platform: how to achieve maximum performance and scalability for their applications. Drawing on the authors' knowledge of the Java programming language and their extensive experience working on performance issues, the book reveals common mistakes and misconceptions concerning the performance characteristics of Java technologies. It offers overall development strategies and concrete, battle-tested techniques to dramatically improve the performance of applications constructed with the Java programming language. Java(tm) Platform Performance highlights the importance of integrating performance evaluation into the application development process and discusses measurement techniques. The book then presents practical tactics for enhancing application performance in the areas of I/O, RAM footprint, small object management, algorithms, data structures, Swing, and deployment. Specific topics covered include: Incorporating performance evaluation into the development process Profiling and benchmarking Building scalable, fast Swing GUIs Using high-speed I/O Computing and controlling the RAM footprint Reducing the number of classes Eliminating temporary objects Selecting high-performance algorithms and data structures Using Java native code and applet packaging efficiently Garbage collection Java HotSpot(tm) technology With an understanding of the performance issues and specific techniques for reducing overhead discussed in this book, you will have the information you need to enhance the efficiency, speed, and scalability of your software.