[duped]

Is there a production JIT for a compiled language that is actually faster? I understand the theory, I don't think the practice backs it up.

[pcwalton]

I believe HotSpot is usually faster than GCJ.

[fragmede]

Depends, what do you consider Java?

[varjag]

Java is certainly not the fastest language out there.

[pcwalton]

Sure, but the relevant comparison isn't between languages: it's between a state-of-the-art JIT implementation of one language and a likewise-state-of-the-art AOT implementation of the same language. Unfortunately there aren't many examples of this; most languages have a preferred implementation strategy that receives much more effort than the other one.