So what is JEFF, exactly?

So what on earth is JEFF and the Bouncy Castle?

Turns out, JEFF's a file format that gets around many of the problems of using Java in real time embedded designs, especially for the Internet of Things (IoT). Developed around 2002, it brings everything into one file and optimises it for memory space. This means that it can run on any Java virtual machine (VM), and these have got a lot smaller in the intervening years.

It also means that embedded projects can use Java libraries and developers - and both of those have grown tremendously over the years. It also helps provide key security libraries such as Bouncy Castle to add more security to an IoT design. Bouncy Castle is a lightweight open source cryptography API that makes securing IoT devices easier.

Why is this being mentioned now though? Well, Wind River has developed a VM for its VxWorks real time operating system called the Micro Engine, and is using the JEFF format to entice developers over to Java: Wind River resurrects real time Java file format for the Internet of Things

When you tie that up with VxWorks' links to IBM's Watson supercompuer-based data analytics service in the cloud, it starts to look very interesting.

By Nick Flaherty www.flaherty.co.uk

Other stories: 
Top ten IoT passwords show users are at risk
Symantec identifies IoT security risks
Top three trends in industrial automation
IoT market heads for shakeout
VxWorks links to IBM's Watson with 'edge-to-cloud'...
Moving IoT analytics to the network edge
PTC bids for IoT with ThingWorx
Synopsys launches ARC core to protect against IoT threats ...

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MicroEJ brings its OS and IoT app store to Kinetis microcontrollers

By Nick Flaherty www.flaherty.co.uk

MicroEJ has shown its latest hybrid C and Kava  operating system (OS) for developing IoT applications using NXP's ARM Cortex-M powered Kinetis microcontrollers.

The MicroEJ OS offers a multi-language programming environment to developers who can use the C language for writing low-level hardware-dependent software and the Java language for high-level hardware-independent software. MicroEJ OS offers a full set of libraries for wired and wireless connectivity, Internet Protocol IP-based networking, security, data storage, graphical user interfaces, and software components management based on the Kinetis Software Development Kit (SDK) that enables developers of IoT and wearable devices to deliver functionality comparable to mobile devices while benefiting from the optimal cost/low-power performance of Kinetis K Series Cortex-M4-based MCUs.

The OS can provide IoT-ready building blocks based on standard protocols such as HTTPS REST, CoAP, MQTT or LWM2M for enabling interoperability with IoT cloud platforms for data streaming and device management and offers the capability for extending device functionality in the field and managing software content with more flexibility than over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates as software apps can be dynamically installed and uninstalled on the run. 

There is also an app store for MicroEJ solutions where apps can be published by developers and downloaded by devices – as with mobile devices.

“MicroEJ and Kinetis solutions offer the ideal hardware/software combination to developers of connected, interactive, and wearable devices,” said Emmanuel Sambuis, NXP Executive Director, MCU & Connectivity Products. “With MicroEJ, the world-largest community of software developers can now benefit from Kinetis MCUs’ optimized performance, scalable integration and low-power capabilities to develop better and more secure IoT devices with reduced risks, time and costs.”

The company has shown the OS running on NXP’s TWR-K65F180M Kinetis K65 MCU Tower System Module for Kinetis K65 MCU. MicroEJ OS can also supports the full family of Kinetis MCU Series based on ARM Cortex-M0+/M4/M7 MCUs.

Not a well known name yet in the industry, MicroEJ has  more than $20M of R&D investment and is focused on turnkey software products to enable application-driven uses and services in the IoT.

www.microej.com

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