Java processor

A Java processor is the implementation of the Java virtual machine (JVM) in hardware. In other words, the Java bytecode that makes up the instruction set of the abstract machine becomes the instruction set of a concrete machine. These are today the most popular form of a high-level language computer architecture.

Implementations

There are many Java processors available, including:

• picoJava was the first attempt by Sun Microsystems to build a Java processor
• aJ102 and aJ200 from aJile Systems, Inc.. Available on boards from Systronix
• Cjip from Imsys Technologies. Available on boards and with wireless radios from AVIDwireless^[1]
• Komodo is a multithreaded Java microcontroller for research on real-time scheduling
• FemtoJava is a research project to build an application specific Java processor
• ARM926EJ-S is an ARM processor able to run Java bytecode, this technology being named Jazelle
• Java Optimized Processor^[2] for FPGAs. A PhD thesis is available
• SHAP bytecode processor from the TU Dresden
• jHISC^[3] provides hardware support for object-oriented functions
• ObjectCore is a multicore Java processor designed by Vivaja Technologies.
• Java Offload Engine (JOE) is a high performance Java co-processor from Temple Computing Labs LLP.

References

1. "Imsys hedges bets on Java: rewritable-microcode chip has instruction sets for Java, Forth, C/C++"] by Tom R. Halfhill
2. Schoeberl, M. (2008). "A Java processor architecture for embedded real-time systems". Journal of Systems Architecture 54 (1–2): 265–286. doi:10.1016/j.sysarc.2007.06.001.
3. Yiyu, T.; Wanyiu, L.; Chihang, Y.; Li, R.; Fong, A. (2006). "A Java processor with hardware-support object-oriented instructions". Microprocessors and Microsystems 30 (8): 469. doi:10.1016/j.micpro.2005.12.007.