Author Description

This book describes a new operating system, developed jointly by Sun Microsystems(TM) and IBM(TM), that transcends the limitations of other operating system technologies. Built to take full advantage of Java's platform independence, the JavaOS(TM) software is a small and efficient operating system that executes the Java application environment directly on hardware platforms without requiring any other host operating system. Designed to support distributed processing across a variety of products in a multiplatform, thin-client environment, the JavaOS software is well positioned to lead the way toward distributed computing. Written by those involved with the JavaOS operating system from its inception, this book provides a comprehensive description of the operating system and explores its marketplace impact. The book begins with a high-level overview of JavaOS architecture, and progresses deep into its specific components. You will find detailed coverage of the *JavaOS System Database used to configure the operating system *JavaOS event system, which supports automatic "plug-and-play" devices *JavaOS Service Loader *JavaOS device driver architecture and the JavaOS Device Interface *JavaOS memory management architecture *Interrupt processing and the abstraction model *JavaOS microkernel *JavaOS boot architecture and the JavaOS Boot Interface In addition, the authors discuss how JavaOS software interacts with the Java(TM) Development Kit (JDK) and how it has the potential to reduce the amount of native code necessary to host the JDK(TM).