French microkernel company Chorus Systemes SA has implemented Sun Microsystems Inc’s JavaOS on top of its ClassiX embedded microkernel operating system, connecting Java and Chorus threads in such a way that Java applets can use Chorus services (CI No 3,103). Indeed what the company is calling Chorus/Jazz enables – in some cases – tasks to be divided between Chorus processes and Java applets. Chorus hopes that manufacturers of switches, Web phones and other real-time devices right up to, but not including a Network Computer, who want to run Chorus and Java applications on the same hardware, will be its customers for the integrated bundle. Chorus worked with Sun’s JavaSoft Inc division to remove the JavaOS hardware abstraction layer and plug the Chorus microkernel in underneath. Chorus/Jazz can execute Java applets and supports HotJava and HotJava Views. It comes with the usual Chorus/ClassiX tool sets, network and device interfaces and application programming interfaces – including Chorus/Cool Corba 2.0 services. It ships next quarter on iAPX-86, PowerPC, ARM RISC and Motorola Inc 68000 family processors. Sparc and MIPS versions are in the works. Development prices start at $11,000 per user; run-times licenses are priced depending on volume. Chorus says it will reveal its first customer shipping a Chorus/Jazz-based product in April. It says other embedded Java implementations such as Wind River Systems Inc’s VxWorks add-on resemble two disparate operating systems tied together. Following its recent success at Lucent Technologies Inc – which will be using Chorus in its transmission systems linking branches to central data systems (CI No 3,096) the company expects Lucent to become its third largest revenue earner over time, and says it was Chorus’ scalability that won it the deal. Further announcements are due in the second week of March.
