No matter what programming language you use, writing a program that runs smoothly and answers rapidly to all the user’s demands is not an easy task. Java is one of the most popular choices when it comes to apps, because it is simple to understand and it is compatible with app designing software like Android Studio and Kotlin. Moreover, Java ME, the official platform, allows developers to create and embed their codes across all Java-supported devices.
When it comes to the performance of your app, however, there are many factors that can impact its efficiency. Some of those issues can be hardware-related, such as insufficient memory, high-CPU processes, and operating system errors, and some have to do with faults in the code. If you are sure the code itself is not the issue, then you can try to make it easier on your hardware to run your app by following the next few steps.
Reduce Algorithm Complexity
Long and complex algorithms take up more space in stack memory, which makes your program run slower. You could try writing stored procedures, instead of queries, since their execution time is shorter because they don’t need to be compiled for execution every time they get called to do something in the application. This automatically gives stored procedures the advantage of using less space in data transfer.
Use External Tools
Technology has not advanced in vain, so it might be a good idea to use external tools that can enhance the performance of your code. Java monitoring tools, like the one from SolarWinds, have been created to give you a helping hand when you reach an overwhelming point. Designed to monitor Java application servers, these tools can send you alerts on issues that might come along the way, before they become major problems.
Use Primitives Types
Using primitive types instead of wrapper classes is an easy way to improve the performance of your Java application because they reduce memory consumption and therefore makes the program more efficient. Primitives are stored on stack memory, therefore data can be accessed faster than when it is stored on heap memory.
Don’t Forget about StringBuilder
In most applications, avoiding strings is almost impossible and many programmers think that by using the ‘+=’ operation they will solve the issues. The reality is, however, that this operation is overused and highly inefficient. The alternatives to basic concatenation operations are StringBuffer, which is more widely used, and StringBuilder, which is a lot quicker. We recommend you give StringBuilder a shot and create a habit out of using it. Be aware though that it might not work for all issues.
Avoid BigDecimal
BigDecimal is highly popular because of its precision for decimal values, but that doesn’t come without any side effects and, unfortunately, those have an impact on the performance of your application. Both BigDecimal and BigInteger use massive amounts of memory when compared to simple calculations, so you should really consider if you need it in the first place. Instead, you should use long or double commands to improve speed.
There are a few tricks that programmers can keep up their sleeves to improve the performance of their Java app, but they also need to remember that modern hardware is imperative. Understanding the type of hardware you are using will result in a code that runs smoothly on it.
