Java is an exciting new object-oriented technology. Hardware for supporting objects and other features of Java such as multithreading, dynamic linking and loading is the focus of this book. The impact of Java's features on micro-architectural resources and issues in the design of Java-specific architectures are interesting topics that require the immediate attention of the research community. While Java has become an important part of desktop applications, it is now being used widely in high-end server markets, and will soon be widespread in low-end embedded computing.

Java Microarchitectures contains a collection of papers providing a snapshot of the state of the art in hardware support for Java. The book covers the behavior of Java applications, embedded processors for Java, memory system design, and high-performance single-chip architectures designed to execute Java applications efficiently.

[2]. The Cell Processor from Sony, Toshiba and IBM (STI) [3], and the Sun UltraSPARC T1 (formerly codenamed Niagara) [4] signal the growing popularity of such systems. Furthermore, Intel's very recently announced 80-core TeraFLOP chip [5] exemplifies the irreversible march toward many-core systems with tens or even hundreds of processing elements. 1.2 The Dawn of the Communication-Centric Revolution The multi-core thrust has ushered the gradual displacement of the computati- centric design model by a more communication-centric approach [6]. The large, sophisticated monolithic modules are giving way to several smaller, simpler p- cessing elements working in tandem. This trend has led to a surge in the popularity of multi-core systems, which typically manifest themselves in two distinct incarnations: heterogeneous Multi-Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoC) and homogeneous Chip Multi-Processors (CMP). The SoC philosophy revolves around the technique of Platform-Based Design (PBD) [7], which advocates the reuse of Intellectual Property (IP) cores in flexible design templates that can be customized accordingly to satisfy the demands of particular implementations. The appeal of such a modular approach lies in the substantially reduced Time-To- Market (TTM) incubation period, which is a direct outcome of lower circuit complexity and reduced design effort. The whole system can now be viewed as a diverse collection of pre-existing IP components integrated on a single die.

[2]. The Cell Processor from Sony, Toshiba and IBM (STI) [3], and the Sun UltraSPARC T1 (formerly codenamed Niagara) [4] signal the growing popularity of such systems. Furthermore, Intel's very recently announced 80-core TeraFLOP chip [5] exemplifies the irreversible march toward many-core systems with tens or even hundreds of processing elements. 1.2 The Dawn of the Communication-Centric Revolution The multi-core thrust has ushered the gradual displacement of the computati- centric design model by a more communication-centric approach [6]. The large, sophisticated monolithic modules are giving way to several smaller, simpler p- cessing elements working in tandem. This trend has led to a surge in the popularity of multi-core systems, which typically manifest themselves in two distinct incarnations: heterogeneous Multi-Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoC) and homogeneous Chip Multi-Processors (CMP). The SoC philosophy revolves around the technique of Platform-Based Design (PBD) [7], which advocates the reuse of Intellectual Property (IP) cores in flexible design templates that can be customized accordingly to satisfy the demands of particular implementations. The appeal of such a modular approach lies in the substantially reduced Time-To- Market (TTM) incubation period, which is a direct outcome of lower circuit complexity and reduced design effort. The whole system can now be viewed as a diverse collection of pre-existing IP components integrated on a single die.

Java is an exciting new object-oriented technology. Hardware for supporting objects and other features of Java such as multithreading, dynamic linking and loading is the focus of this book. The impact of Java's features on micro-architectural resources and issues in the design of Java-specific architectures are interesting topics that require the immediate attention of the research community. While Java has become an important part of desktop applications, it is now being used widely in high-end server markets, and will soon be widespread in low-end embedded computing. Java Microarchitectures contains a collection of papers providing a snapshot of the state of the art in hardware support for Java. The book covers the behavior of Java applications, embedded processors for Java, memory system design, and high-performance single-chip architectures designed to execute Java applications efficiently.