1999 Project Java VM Client -restricted- Task Analysis & Design Solution Balanced hardware / software hybrid

Java Virtual Machine for custom processor hardware

Our client was designing a new processor core for mobile devices. One of the goals was support for Java programs. The processor architects had a germ of an idea for how to execute Java programs on the new hardware.

They choose Glyphic because of our expertise in virtual machine design and our reputation for finding architectural solutions. Initially we validated the concept they had, then we took that idea and reshaped it into a full design. Each Java bytecoded instruction was carefully analyzed and then incorporated into the VM design. Complete instruction characterization early on allowed us to suggest processor hardware changes early enough in the design cycle to make it into the hardware well before first silicon.

The result: Our client has a processor core that can execute Java programs at the same speed as JIT implementations with only a fraction of the memory footprint. It achieves this with a small amount of additional processor hardware compared to other hardware VM implementations. Glyphic was able to achieve this because we can craft a high level architecture while keeping a careful eye on the low level details.