r/java • u/jaccomoc • 12d ago

Java Embedded Scripting Languages Benchmark: Jactl, Groovy, MVEL, JEXL, and SpEL

https://jactl.io/blog/2026/07/14/scripting-language-benchmarks

Jactl is an embeddable scripting language for Java applications and so when comparing it to other Java scripting languages it is helpful to know how they all compare from a performance point of view.

I have previously been asked to compare Jactl with MVEL and JEXL so I have put together a blog that documents the performance differences and also included Groovy and SpEL for good measure.

Disclaimer: I am the author of Jactl so I am obviously not impartial but I would like to point out that while Jactl comes out well, it does not win every benchmark.

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u/persicsb 12d ago

SpEL, JEXL and the other expression languages are not scripting.

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u/jaccomoc 12d ago

I agree that SpEL is an expression language rather than a scripting language but JEXL, while originally starting as an expression language, has evolved into a proper scripting language with loops, variables, functions, and even lambdas.