Product category:
Embedded Software and Operating Systems
News Release from: DCT Digital Communication Technologies | Subject: SDK for Lightfoot
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 17 October 2001
Development help for embedded Java
processor
At JavaOne in Japan next month, the Java microcontroller specialist DCT will launch the software development kit (SDK) for its Lightfoot core.
At JavaOne in Japan next month, the Java microcontroller specialist DCT will launch the software development kit (SDK) for its Lightfoot core It addresses a major issue for electronic OEMs - how to exploit the benefits of Java in embedded systems with constrained memory, and incorporate legacy code for functions such as protocol stacks
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 3 Sep 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Providing a software development environment that allows designers to easily mix languages, the new SDK - in conjunction with DCT's hardware - will let designers seamlessly execute programs incorporating both Java and code written in conventional real-time languages like C.
The 32-bit Lightfoot processor core with its customisable instruction set brings a unique capability to the fast-emerging embedded Java market, by implementing an architecture that delivers cost-effective embedded Java systems with very low memory footprints.
The high memory requirements that plague traditional Java implementations are avoided by DCT's proprietary Java architecture, which delivers the efficiency of code inlining without suffering from 'code bloat'.
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The processor also executes a large number of bytecodes in a single instruction cycle, for extremely high Java performance.
A Lightfoot microcontroller will be demonstrated at the exhibition.
A range of ASSP (application specific standard product) microcontrollers for target markets is scheduled for release in early 2002.
In addition to the lean Lightfoot core - which requires just 25,000 gates and is targeted at lower-end embedded Java applications - DCT will for the first time publicly display a breakthrough architecture for higher-performance embedded systems.
This new solution adds extra logic to a RISC core to optimise it for Java execution.
The design concept - dubbed Bigfoot - typically speeds Java throughput by an order of magnitude - providing an efficient solution for volume consumer applications such as home multimedia terminals and automotive infotainment systems.
The example implementation on display at JavaOne will be based on a commercial core from ARC, developed as a custom solution for DCT's client Fujitsu.
"The market for embedded Java is developing fast, and evolving into a number of distinct segments, ranging from low-end disposable computers for applications such as smart cards, through internet appliances, to high performance terminals", says DCT's COO, Chris Turner.
"It's clear that OEMs require more than one embedded Java processor - and we believe our JavaOne exhibit will be the first in the world to support that need with architecture solutions for both ends of the embedded Java spectrum".
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