Effectively running Java on ServerlessGraalVM Native Image2 min
GraalVM is a high-performance JDK designed to accelerate the execution of applications written in Java and other JVM languages while also providing run times for JavaScript, Python, and a number of other popular languages. GraalVM offers two ways to run Java applications:
- On the HotSpot JVM with Graal just-in-time (JIT) compiler, or
- As an ahead-of-time (AOT) compiled native executable
GraalVM Native Image
GraalVM native image uses the second approach mentioned above. It compiles Java code ahead-of-time to a binary executable. A native executable includes only the code required at run time, that is the application classes, standard-library classes, the language runtime, and statically-linked native code from the JDK.
Packaging GraalVM native image for AWS Lambda
Normal JVM versus GraalVM Native image on AWS Lambda:
| JVM | GraalVM Native image |
|---|---|
| Compiled just-in-time (JIT) | Compiled ahead-of-time (AOT) |
| Faster compile time | Slower compile time because of AOT optimizations |
| Deployment with managed runtime | Deployment with custom runtime |
| Dynamic Language Features (runtime proxies, reflection) | Closed-world model, dynamic features need special treatment |
| Slower startup | Faster startup |
| Uses more resources | Uses fraction of resources, cheaper to run |
| Bigger artifact size | Smaller artifact size |
| Higher cold start | Delivers peak performance immediately |
| Wider attack surface | Reduced attack surface because of close-world model |
Refer the guide to learn more about the special treatments GraalVM native does to support dynamic features.
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Effectively running Java on Serverless