Below the Fold: Adventures in Constancy

Explore the evolution of Java's static compiler optimization in this 38-minute talk by Brian Goetz and Vicente Romero. Delve into the impact of ConstantDynamic on expanding the range of expressible constants in classfiles. Discover how this advancement creates new opportunities for the static compiler to encode more elements as constants, paving the way for enhanced JIT optimization. Learn about improved intrinsification and constant folding techniques in the static compiler, enabling more direct encoding of source constructs as constants and direct access to invokedynamic. Gain insights into the historical context of Java compilation and the reasons behind the limited role of javac in compile-time optimization.