Over Blanton's eight years at Catalyst, he has seen about 100 customers switch from C to Java. "What has happened on the server side with Java adoption is going to repeat itself in embedded as we get a more direct interface of the Java code with the hardware," he said. "Code reusability is the big thing with Java. There are so many benefits--if the hardware can keep up."

Processor vendors are working to speed Java code execution. Chris Porthouse, an ARM Ltd. manager, said ARM's implementation of Java today resides on about 350 million cell phones but is used primarily for "simple games." In 2006, Porthouse said, handset vendors will deploy more Java-based applications, ranging from e-mail to music and video content processing. To support that effort, ARM has developed a family of architectural extensions for execution environments that turn the ARM core into a Java processor.

"One reason Java has been slow is that the Java code had to be translated into ARM code. Our goal is to execute the code directly, to turn the ARM processors into Java processors," Porthouse said.

All of the ARM 11 processors will run Jazelle Direct Bytecode Execution (DBX), which executes Java byte code directly in hardware. Jazelle DBX is used on the third-generation phones from Japan's Docomo and on other 3G handsets from "the top seven or eight" handset manufacturers, Porthouse said.

"Java is well-known for ease of development," he said, "but for 'serious' applications, Java just doesn't execute fast enough. We believe Jazelle DBX will provide up to a 5x improvement with real-time applications."

Beyond the wireless market, Porthouse said, Java is seeing early adoption in set-tops, digital televisions and Blu-ray recordable-DVD systems. The OpenCable Application Platform developed by CableLabs uses Java building blocks for the program guide, for example.

David Lounsbury, vice president of advanced research at The Open Group, said that military systems with real-time aspects represent a major opportunity for Java. "The mission requirements don't get relaxed," he said. "Instead, Java vendors must rise to the challenge, providing the predictability that is required for real-time and deeply embedded applications."

Java increasingly is being used or tested for software-defined radio and other comms systems, in global-positioning systems, in air traffic control and management, and in weapons systems to control brakes and wing surfaces. The European Commission is considering Java for its Project Alpine smart-highway/smart-braking research, Lounsbury said.

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=177105871&pgno=2

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2002

Recent statistics published in the 2002 Semiconductor IP Trends demonstrate the deep penetration of ARM(R) processors in today's electronic products. The PTSC IGNITE(TM) AHB Wrapper was developed to enable direct interoperability between the IGNITE processor and ARM in a co-processor system architecture, as well as with the ARM peripherals and development tool chain.

"This very competitive marketplace is continually demanding additional functionality from their embedded processors," stated Patrick Nunally, PTSC's chief technical officer. "As products evolve, additional features are added and more processing power is required. The addition of an IGNITE co-processor with the Advanced High-Performance Bus interface is an easier, faster and far less expensive answer to the need for additional processing performance without encountering the complexity and expense of replacing the main processor. The purpose here is to leverage the massive installed base of ARM and to give ARM developers an option of adding only about 5% to the size and power consumption of the ARM9 while increasing its processing capability by nearly 200%," detailed Dr. Nunally.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_May_7/ai_85494271/