Inside Java

Java chips

 

Sun chips

picoJava, microJava, and UltraJava, the new chips from Sun will run Java-based programs much faster than general-purpose processors.
new.gif (964 bytes) October 15, 97 -  Sun introduced its first Java processor, the microJava 701. Read now our review.

The entry-level picoJava chip will be aimed at cellular phones, printers, and other peripherals. Sun is addressing performance via the inclusion of a hardware JVM that enables Java bytecodes to be executed directly by the chip without passing through an interpreter.
Just-in-time (JIT) compilers can run Java code even faster than interpreters, but Sun says the picoJava chips could be five times faster than a Pentium with a JIT compiler. However, Sun concedes that it still isn't certain how much picoJava's hardware improvements for thread synchronization and garbage collection will contribute to the overall speed of Java chips.

The microJava microprocessor is due in the first quarter of next year and will be targeted at network-based devices such as controllers and telecom carrier equipment as well as low-end consumer games.

UltraJava will become available in sampling quantities in late 1997. These processors will be used to power advanced 3D graphics and multimedia-intensive programs. It will implement the VIS instruction set, an extension to the SPARC V9 architecture designed to accelerate multimedia, image processing and networking applications.

Patriot Scientific chip

The PSC1000 Microprocessor is a highly integrated 32-bit RISC processor that offers high performance at low system cost for a wide range of embedded applications.
Running at an internal speed of 100 MHz, the processor executes with 100 native MIPS peak performance. The 32-bit registers and data paths fully support 32-bit addresses and data types. The processor addresses up to four gigabytes of physical memory, and supports virtual memory with the use of external mapping logic.

IBM chip ?

5/19/97 - Engineers at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center here plan to build a prototype VLIW microprocessor that can run Java code. The chip could be the basis for a single-board NC.