"languages like Python and Ruby can be over 100x slower than other high level languages"
Notice the "can be"? It's important.
And I don't think arguing if Java is a high level language or not is very useful in this context. Notice that C++ was also included as a "high level" language. Clearly if C++ is high level then Java is too.
Anyway, the point of that comment wasn't which languages are high level - it's that efficiency is important, because some languages have areas where performance suffers.
Clearly that is true (at least to some extent) as the use of Numpy in Python shows.
I'd argue that writing Numpy (and other high-performance libraries for use in high level languages) isn't "general purpose programming" (which is what the OP) was talking about, but that is also a different discussion.
Javascript is arguably a high-level language however, and meaningless benchmarks (aka "damn lies") attest V8 is in spitting distance of Java.
There are far better examples. E.g. Haskell is very high-level and, as axman6 mentions elsewhere in this thread, has been shown to be able to handle 20m new connections per second.
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You said a wrong thing. Java is a far cry from a high-level language.
Javascript is arguably a high-level language however, and meaningless benchmarks (aka "damn lies") attest V8 is in spitting distance of Java. http://benchmarksgame.alioth.debian.org/u32/javascript.php
Scala is much higher level than Java, compiles to the same run-time, and is at rough parity. http://benchmarksgame.alioth.debian.org/u32/scala.php
"languages like Python and Ruby can be over 100x slower than other high level languages"
Notice the "can be"? It's important.
And I don't think arguing if Java is a high level language or not is very useful in this context. Notice that C++ was also included as a "high level" language. Clearly if C++ is high level then Java is too.
Anyway, the point of that comment wasn't which languages are high level - it's that efficiency is important, because some languages have areas where performance suffers.
Clearly that is true (at least to some extent) as the use of Numpy in Python shows.
I'd argue that writing Numpy (and other high-performance libraries for use in high level languages) isn't "general purpose programming" (which is what the OP) was talking about, but that is also a different discussion.
Javascript is arguably a high-level language however, and meaningless benchmarks (aka "damn lies") attest V8 is in spitting distance of Java.
There are far better examples. E.g. Haskell is very high-level and, as axman6 mentions elsewhere in this thread, has been shown to be able to handle 20m new connections per second.
We can revive the old 'language generations' concept I was taught in school:
- First generation: binary opcodes entered by hand.
- Second generation: Assembler languages.
- Third generation: Compiled languages like C++.
- Fourth generation: Interpreted high level like Python and Ruby. Also SQL.
- Fifth generation: There's no such thing. Or may be Apple's Siri is.
Java seems to be in a "3.5" generation, if that thing can be conceived. Javascript started as fourth and keeps getting a little bit closer to third.
Or, we can just call them all "programming languages" and evaluate them on their individual strengths and weaknesses.
What makes you say Java is not a high level language? It most certainly is that according to the official definitions of the term.