JOP - Java Optimized Processor

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This site is designated for a processor design to implement the Java Virtual Machine in hardware. It is part of a PhD thesis at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria. The goal of this development is a simple and small Java processor optimized to execute Java bytecode.

Java, a popular programming language on desktop system, is seldom used in embedded systems. Some features of Java, like thread support in the language, can greatly simplify development of embedded systems, but the common implementations of the JVM (Java Virtual Machine), as interpreter or just-in-time compiler, are not practical.

This site describes an alternative approach: JOP (a Java Optimized Processor) is a hardware implementation of the JVM with predictable execution time for embedded real-time systems.

Due to the small size of the processor, it can be implemented in a low cost FPGA. For low volume systems, the flexibility of an FPGA can be of more importance then the slightly higher cost compared to conventional processors.

JOP is one way to use a configurable Java processor in small embedded real-time systems. It shall help to increase the acceptance of Java for these systems.

Complete VHDL source and tools in Java are available for download. JOP is open-source under the GNU General Public License, version 3. For discussion with other JOP users a yahoo group is available ( Click to join java-processor ).

Martin Schoeberl