CACAO
Encyclopedia
CACAO is a research Java Virtual Machine
developed at Vienna University of Technology
. It compiles the class binaries while running (no interpreter), resulting in faster execution. It is an academic project and was originally driven by some students doing practical training or diploma theses on specific topics.
The first version of CACAO was released at 1997 as a faster replacement of Sun
's implementation, which at that time only had an interpreter. The recent Sun's virtual machines also use just-in-time compiling.
CACAO gained much more activity after becoming a free software
project in 2004, distributed under the term of the GNU General Public License
. It uses GNU Classpath
as its class library
.
CACAO supports Alpha
, ARM
, MIPS
(32 and 64-bit), PowerPC
(32 and 64-bit), S390, SPARC64
, x86 and x86-64
architectures.
Java Virtual Machine
A Java virtual machine is a virtual machine capable of executing Java bytecode. It is the code execution component of the Java software platform. Sun Microsystems stated that there are over 4.5 billion JVM-enabled devices.-Overview:...
developed at Vienna University of Technology
Vienna University of Technology
Vienna University of Technology is one of the major universities in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Founded in 1815 as the "Imperial-Royal Polytechnic Institute" , it currently has about 26,200 students , 8 faculties and about 4,000 staff members...
. It compiles the class binaries while running (no interpreter), resulting in faster execution. It is an academic project and was originally driven by some students doing practical training or diploma theses on specific topics.
The first version of CACAO was released at 1997 as a faster replacement of Sun
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
's implementation, which at that time only had an interpreter. The recent Sun's virtual machines also use just-in-time compiling.
CACAO gained much more activity after becoming a free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
project in 2004, distributed under the term of the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
. It uses GNU Classpath
GNU Classpath
GNU Classpath is a project aiming to create a free software implementation of the standard class library for the Java programming language. Despite the massive size of the library to be created, the majority of the task is already done, including Swing, CORBA, and other major parts. The Classpath...
as its class library
Java Class Library
The Java Class Library is a set of dynamically loadable libraries that Java applications can call at run time. Because the Java Platform is not dependent on any specific operating system, applications cannot rely on any of the existing libraries...
.
CACAO supports Alpha
DEC Alpha
Alpha, originally known as Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by Digital Equipment Corporation , designed to replace the 32-bit VAX complex instruction set computer ISA and its implementations. Alpha was implemented in microprocessors...
, ARM
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
, MIPS
MIPS architecture
MIPS is a reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by MIPS Technologies . The early MIPS architectures were 32-bit, and later versions were 64-bit...
(32 and 64-bit), PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
(32 and 64-bit), S390, SPARC64
SPARC
SPARC is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by Sun Microsystems and introduced in mid-1987....
, x86 and x86-64
X86-64
x86-64 is an extension of the x86 instruction set. It supports vastly larger virtual and physical address spaces than are possible on x86, thereby allowing programmers to conveniently work with much larger data sets. x86-64 also provides 64-bit general purpose registers and numerous other...
architectures.
See also
- List of Java virtual machines
- Free Java implementationsFree Java implementationsFree Java implementations are software projects that implement Oracle's Java technologies and are distributed under free software licences, thus making them free software...