I understand the benefits of the Java Platform Module System (JPMS) for large applications, but is there any reason to make a small library or application into a (single) module? If so, are Modular Jar Files the best means of accomplishing this, or is the normal approach preferred?
Going forward, will there be performance implications for modularized v. classpath programs?
Immediate performance implications include the following:
This is by no means a guarantee that your app will be faster, but the above is undeniably attractive.
Longer term, consider this:
java.base
module to native code. This is likely the path forward for future Java releases. Surely this will improve startup time in the future. (again, more info here)