New Processor Design from Sun Microsystems

IQ writes "This NYTimes article discusses Sun's latest chip, known as Microprocessor Architecture for Java Computing or MAJC. Looks like a huge, fast MultiDiePackage with a lotta chips. " Fits in well with Sun's continuing attempt to route around Intel-these chips are look like they are philosphically aligned with Jini. More specs will be coming out later on this month. (Free login required @ NYT).

Comments

Java bytecodes

[DonkPunch]

I'm seeing a lot of posts saying that chips designed for a specific language are a Bad Thing. I tend to agree.

BUT I think this argument overlooks something important. A Java chip would not interpret Java at the brace-and-semicolon level, it would read Java bytecodes. Java bytecodes are basically machine language for a microprocessor that exists only in software. It is only logical to make such a chip in hardware eventually.

Furthermore, if the specs for a "Java chip" are open, what is to keep compiler writers from implementing back-ends which write Java bytecodes? I'm not a compiler writer, but it seems like it would be quite possible to implement, for example, a C or C++ compiler which writes Java bytecodes instead of x86/68000/Alpha/Sparc/whatever machine code. Such a compiler would make the "Java chip" usable by people who don't like writing Java.

I seem to recall seeing at least one compiler that takes a non-Java language (Perl, I think) and compiles it to Java bytecodes. Also, I know there is one regular slashdot reader who is doing Java programming at the assembly level -- any comments? If a Java chip sees widespread use, anything-to-bytecode compilers would seem inevitable.