In-Depth

DDC-I Unveils Real-Time Java Tool

Solution helps create low-latency applications to better meet FAA safety standards.</

• By Kurt Mackie
• June 1, 2007

Software developers working on producing safe, real-time Java solutions for the airlines and military now have a new tool available from DDC-I called Scorpion. This plug-in for the Eclipse environment promises the creation of lower latency Java applications than other such tools, according to an announcement issued by DDC-I.

Scorpion supports the current Real-Time Specification for Java (RTSJ) spec. DDC-I promises that its Scorpion tool will support the emerging safety standard currently being developed by the Safety-Critical Java Expert Group, of which DDC-I is a member.

The Safety Critical Java Expert Group plans to modify the RTSJ spec to ensure that safety-critical applications can run without delays from a garbage collector (a form of automatic memory management). In that way, Java application can meet the Federal Aviation Administration's DO-178B level A certification requirements.

Scorpion supports mixed language development, allowing developers to combine Java with languages such as C, embedded C++ and Ada, according to the announcement. It has a "smart linker" that removes unused objects, which can reduce the code size by "up to 80 percent."

"Other Java solutions proclaim real-time capability, but lack the deterministic real-time garbage collection needed for true hard real-time response," explained Bob Morris, president and CEO of DDC-I, in a press release.

The Scorpion compiler is integrated with Wind River Workbench 2.6, an Eclipse-based integrated tools suite, and the VxWorks 6.4 operating system. The integrated solution lets developers use Workbench to combine Java with other languages.

Scorpion currently works on systems that run VxWorks 6.4 using PowerPC and Pentium processors. It's currently available, starting at $5,000 per seat.

In addition to Scorpion, DDC-I recently announced a new service that can convert legacy JOVIAL programs into C code. JOVIAL code was implemented in military and aerospace systems developed in the 1970s and 1980s.