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Excelsior JET Debuts on Linux

Excelsior JET Debuts on LinuxExcelsior JET Debuts on LinuxExcelsior JET 3.6 enables desktop and server-side Java(tm)
developers to convert any Java application into an optimized native
executable running directly on hardware, without any changes in the
source code. This release is the first to support Linux on Intel
x86 architecture. All-new fast JIT compiler and substantial
compatibility improvements are the main reasons for users of the
Windows version to consider purchasing an upgrade.Novosibirsk, Russia July 16, 2004 -- Excelsior, LLC, a
Russian vendor of software development tools, has announced today
the latest edition of its award-winning product, Excelsior JET 3.6
Java(tm) Virtual Machine. Designed to improve performance and of
Java applications through ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation,
Excelsior JET is now available for both Microsoft(R) Windows(R) and
Linux on Intel x86 (IA-32) platform.
About Ahead-Of-Time Compilation
Ahead-Of-Time (AOT) compilation, the core feature of Excelsior JET,
aims at helping Java catch up with C++, Ada, and other statically
compiled languages in terms of performance. Excelsior JET AOT
compiler transforms Java applications into conventional binary
executables for the target platform that run directly on hardware,
without a warm-up cycle inherent to "traditional" JVMs. At the same
time, Excelsior JET fully supports Java dynamic class loading
facilities through provision of a Caching Just-In-Time (JIT)
compiler.
Particularly appealing to developers is the ability to compile
common libraries and components into DLLs or shared objects, for
their code and read-only data to be shared among running
applications at the operating system level, thus reducing memory
consumption. Today, the concept of sharing is finding its way into
major Java implementations, whereas Java programmers using
Excelsior JET have been enjoying the benefits of sharing since
Excelsior JET 1.0 release, dated December 2000.
A nice side effect of AOT compilation is higher resistance of the
resulting code to reverse engineering. Proprietary Java
applications are normally distributed as portable Java bytecode,
and there are numerous free Java decompilers on the Net that would
restore the original source code from Java bytecode. A technique
called bytecode obfuscation can make hackers` life more difficult
at the cost of application performance. Optimizing Java bytecode
down to native Pentium code makes its decompilation require much
more skills and resources, while avoiding penalties on application
performance.
What`s New in Excelsior JET 3.6?
The headline is the 100% increase in the number of supported
platforms with the introduction of Excelsior JET for Linux on the
Intel x86 (IA-32) architecture.
"It is our customers who named Linux on x86 the most desirable
target," said Dmitry Leskov, Excelsior`s Director of Marketing.
"Many Excelsior JET users have said they target both Windows and
Linux, and would buy the Linux version immediately or after
confirming its capabilities through evaluation."
Important changes since Excelsior JET 3.5 for Windows:
* All-new fast JIT compiler introduced
* 10-20% reduction of generated executables size thanks to careful
redesign of optimizations affecting code and data size
* Compatibility improvement: bytecode obfuscation and engineering
are no longer obstacles for using Excelsior JET
System Requirements and Interoperability
The minimum hardware requirements for Excelsior JET 3.6 are
Pentium-class CPU, 128MB of RAM (192MB recommended), and 60MB of
disk space (200MB or more required temporarily during setup).
Graphical tools need display resolution of 1024x768x256colors,
otherwise command-line tools may be used.
Excelsior JET 3.6 for Windows runs on Microsoft Windows NT, Windows
2000, Windows XP and Windows 98.
Excelsior JET 3.6 for Linux requires kernel 2.4 or above and glibc
2.2.5 or above.
Excelsior JET 3.6 works with Sun Java 2 Runtime Environment,
Standard Edition, versions up to and including 1.4.2_04. A hotfix
is already
available from Excelsior adding support for the recently released
J2SE 1.4.2_05, and that hotfix will become part of Maintenance Pack
1
due by the end of July.
Excelsior JET 3.6 for Windows also provides preliminary support for
J2SE 1.5 (Tiger) beta 2.
Availability and Pricing
Excelsior JET 3.6 is available today. To download a free evaluation
copy, please visit:
www.excelsior-usa.com/jetdleval.html
Excelsior JET is priced per developer seat, without any runtime
fees, and can be purchased directly from Excelsior Web Store
at:
www.excelsior-usa.com/store/
and through authorized resellers. Prices range from $140 for
Excelsior JET, Standard Edition for Linux with no service contract
to $2,250 for Excelsior JET, Professional Edition for Windows with
1 Year Premium Support and Maintenance. Users of Excelsior JET
versions 3.0 to 3.5 for Windows and customers that need both
Windows and Linux versions qualify for substantial discounts.
About Excelsior
Excelsior, LLC provides advanced software development solutions -
optimizing compilers, source to source translators, analysis and
reengineering tools, and related services since 1999. Privately
held, Excelsior, LLC, has its headquarters in Novosibirsk, Russia,
and is on the Web at www.excelsior-usa.com.