PERC Pico Breaks New Ground in Speed, Size, Determinism

At Embedded World in Nuremburg, Aonix announced the first commercial release of its new PERC Pico technology. PERC Pico is the first development environment for Java developers truly geared toward the creation of resource-constrained and deeply embedded hard real-time applications and components. PERC Pico is designed to solve problems for a broad range of projects including avionics, satellites, deep space probes, radio communications, telecon, weapons systems, and flight surface controls.

PERC Pico eliminates the technological barriers that previously blocked the proliferation of Java development across the embedded applications market. A study by Embedded Market Forecasters reveals that the hindering factors for Java were perceptions of slow execution, lack of deterministic response, the inability to access low-level devices, and large footprint. PERC Pico addresses each of these issues head on.  PERC Pico execution speed is similar to C/C++ programs and three times faster than traditional Java solutions.  PERC Pico offers deterministic response times in the low microseconds, the ability to directly access low-level hardware devices, and memory footprint as low as 256 Kbytes.

The PERC Pico environment combines off-the-shelf tools with standards-based annotations, a verifier, and automated build tools to create efficient executables. Built-in memory management removes the complexities and execution inefficiencies typically associated with conventional garbage-collection techniques that are less suitable for resource-constrained applications. The PERC Pico technology provides the basis for safety certifiable solutions to the highest level of safety criticality. Such certification is impractical or impossible with conventional Java approaches.

 One indication of the growing trend toward Java in embedded applications is that even traditionally conservative industries like avionics, space, and automotive are taking a close look and assessing the potential for Java in future applications. The European Space Agency (ESA) has responded to industry requests by commissioning particular variants of PERC Pico to support space applications. ESA is using Java to prototype onboard software building blocks.

 Designed as a profile of the RTSJ, PERC Pico can be used in either a stand-alone configuration on bare target boards or with an RTOS kernel where footprint and execution speed are at a premium. In an RTOS-based configuration, PERC Pico can also be used together with the PERC Ultra virtual machine in an RTOS environment. This dual configuration is ideal for complex embedded applications where developers need to combine high levels of functionality and productivity with access to low-level devices, deterministic response, and high throughput. The PERC Ultra virtual machine offers rich J2SE™-based capabilities and predictable garbage collection, while PERC Pico provides the low-level access and small latencies that are often required.

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Aonix Enhances ObjectAda Real-Time and Safety-Critical Products with Eclipse Plug-ins

Aonix® announced the release of ObjectAda Real-Time RAVEN V8.3 for Windows platforms targeting PowerPC at Embedded World in Nürnburg, Germany, this month. ObjectAda Real-Time Raven implements the Ravenscar profile, a restricted subset of the standard Ada runtime environment for applications requiring safety certification or a high-level of confidence in proven and fully tested runtime execution predictability.

ObjectAda Real-Time RAVEN V8.3 allows developers to choose between the traditional Aonix IDE for development and the new AonixADT™ Eclipse plug-in. Geared to maximize developer ease and efficiency, AonixADT incorporates Ada-project awareness, an Ada-language sensitive editor, Ada-language compile and build capabilities, and a complete Ada debugger interface, enabling Ada developers to enjoy state-of-the-art interface capabilities. AonixADT is being added to ObjectAda at no additional cost.

  AonixADT implements plug-ins compatible with Eclipse standards V3.1, 3.1.1 and 3.1.2. Eclipse is an open-source software development project dedicated to providing a robust, full-featured, commercial-quality, industry platform for the development of highly integrated tools. A strong supporter of the Eclipse Foundation, Aonix has gone to great lengths to lock-step with evolving Eclipse specifications. Aonix has released ADT plug-ins with ObjectAda V8.2 native development products for Windows, Intel/Linux, and Sparc/Solaris platforms.

ObjectAda Real-Time RAVEN V8.3 continues the Aonix legacy of delivering certifiable applications to both commercial and government safety-critical projects in avionics, space, high-speed rail, and nuclear industries. Aonix gained its solid reputation in the safety-critical field by designing tools that comply with market standards and has provided safety-critical solutions to a myriad of commercial and defense projects including International Space Station, Boeing 777, Rafale Multi-Role Combat Fighter, C130-J Hercules, Airbus A 330-340, and NH90 Helicopter. For systems not requiring formal certification, ObjectAda Real-Time Raven provides the assurance that the Ada runtime used in resource-constrained systems has been rigorously proven and tested.

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Aonix Shatters Ada Price Barrier for Linux

Aonix has introduced a new “zero-cost” license model for its ObjectAda for Linux product. Recognizing the expectations of the Linux community, Aonix has introduced pricing for ObjectAda 8.2 for Linux that emulates what is used for its industry-leading PERC product line. This price model focuses on customer service packs rather than development licenses. ObjectAda 8.2 for Linux provides a full complement of mature Ada technologies with an integrated Eclipse-based environment for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora Core and most equivalent x86 Linux distributions.

In conforming ObjectAda for Linux to the new Aonix service-pack model, Aonix has chosen to extend the zero-cost licensing of its best-selling PERC product line used by real-time Java developers to Aonix Ada developers working on the Linux platform. ObjectAda for Linux provides a robust development environment that includes a fully validated optimizing compiler, library manager, runtime, configuration management integrations, life-cycle tools, and a productivity toolset that includes an editor, browser, and debugger. Both a traditional Aonix IDE and the AonixADT plug-in set for Eclipse are provided. With this new pricing, Linux developers are able to choose a service-pack or a traditional user-based model.

Since Aonix launched it in 1996 with a Visual C++ style IDE and pricing far below any previously seen for commercial Ada products, ObjectAda for Windows has been by far the top-selling Ada environment. Its installed base now includes many tens of thousands of units. The AonixADT Eclipse environment and service-pack pricing extend similar benefits to the Linux community.

AonixADT incorporates Ada-project awareness, an Ada-language sensitive editor, Ada-language compile and build capabilities, and a complete Ada debugger interface, enabling Ada developers to enjoy state-of-the-art interface capabilities geared to maximize developer ease and efficiency. Developers can focus on building applications, not on integrating tools since AonixADT also retains a large set of existing plug-ins for third-party tools, including support for source-code configuration management.