PHOENIX, 21 June 2007. DDC-I in Phoenix is announcing a Java software solution for hard real-time applications. Known as Scorpion, the Eclipse-based tool set delivers two orders of magnitude lower latency than competitive real-time Java solutions, DDC-I officials say.
Scorpion supports mixed-language development, which makes it possible to combine Java with other languages such as C, Embedded C++, and Ada.
Scorpion supports the existing Real-Time Specification for Java (RTSJ), and will support the emerging safety-critical Java specification presently under development by the Safety-Critical Java Expert Group (JSR 302).
The Scorpion environment features compilers and debuggers for Java, Ada, C, and Embedded C++, a builder for ahead-of-time Java file compilation, and a virtual machine (ScorpionVMTM) for executing real-time Java applications. Scorpion also features a smart linker that removes unused objects from closed systems.
Scorpion uses technology from aicas GmbH that provides for deterministic garbage collection -- a prerequisite for executing bounded, hard real-time applications, DDC-I officials say. The Scorpion garbage collector is distributed, which reduces overall Java complexity. The Scorpion garbage collector also enhances memory efficiency and performance by reducing garbage accumulation and the memory/time required to store and collect it.
To facilitate mixed-language development, Scorpion provides a wizard that maps Java native method calls directly to existing Ada/C code, thereby enabling Java programs to call existing C and Ada programs. This tool helps to combine Java with other languages in the same application. It also aids the migration of legacy C and Ada programs, both to present day RTSJ-compliant real-time Java environments, and to future JSR 302-compliant safety-critical Java environments.
The Scorpion compiler, implemented as an Eclipse plug-in, is integrated with Wind River Workbench 2.6, an Eclipse-based integrated tools suite, and the VxWorks 6.4 operating system. This enables developers working within Workbench to combine Scorpion Java with other development languages. Scorpion also provides a run-time Java platform, which runs on top of VxWorks and enables the compiled Java code to be deployed on VxWorks target systems.
For more information contact DDC-I online at www.ddci.com.
