mod_gcj 0.8

mod_gcj is a project aimed to serve dynamic pages from Apache using libgcj, the free Java implementation that is part of GCC. Setting up Apache with servlet engines has been a cumbersome task for many years. Still today, it isnt very easy to set up the Apache Foundationss own Tomcat servlet container with Apache.

Also, traditional servlet containers do not feel very well integrated with Apache or the rest of the OS platform. Of course, this kind of non-integration is part of Javas culture. One could even say it is one of Javas pillars. But is it always a good thing for server applications?

In contrast, the GCC compiler suite treats Java as just another language that is compiled down to native code. Static compilation obviously is a nice fit for server applications, where code can immediately optimized for the platform without going through the intermediate bytecode level and than compiling the code at runtime.

Another benefit is that Java code compiled with GCJ can be easily linked with other native resources and thus becomes much less isolated than Java traditionally is, and more of an equal citizen of the platform it runs on. GCJ provides its own interface for coupling Java code with C++ called CNI. In contrast to JNI, CNI is very sleek, performs well and is suiteble for use by ordinary people.

To summarize, mod_gcj aims to provide a way to serve dynamic Java Web content that is closer to the Apache Httpd and the platform it runs on.