Java and Python for embedded applications (was: Java and Python)

[Don Garrett]

Cameron Laird wrote:
> I'm unconvinced about even the mild Java-is-smaller-and-faster claim.
> While I don't keep up with embedded Java now, there certainly have
> been times in the recent past when its start-of-the-art has been ...
> disappointing in these regards.  Python was competitive, and sometimes
> better.

  I had the good fortune to work with Dallas Semiconductor on projects related
to the Java ibutton, and TINI boards. They required that class files be run
through a pre-processor that (mostly) did nothing but strip or compress meta
data related to class information and perform as much linking as possible
prior to downloading.

  Working programs were often compressed down to under a k. Of course,
performance was what you would expect from an 8 bit processor running a 32 bit
VM.

  Java worked very well in that embedded environment. In particular, the
strict typing was very useful for the strict security mechanisms using in the
iButton.

  Unfortunatly, I've never had the chance to work with embedded Python as a
comparison. I should also note that while the Java iButton conformed to the
Java SmartCard 1.0 spec, they did not conform to later versions, and people at
DalSemi seemed to feel that the spec was evolved to their disadvantage for
political reasons (I have no idea if that's true or not).

--
Don Garrett                             http://www.bgb.cc/garrett/
BGB Consulting                                      garrett at bgb.cc