"By improving Java JIT and DAC performance, code size and power efficiency, Jazelle RCT technology will enable advanced consumer electronic devices including smart phones, digital TV and portable media players, spearheading a new wave of applications using Java and other execution environments," said Lance Howarth, Director of Embedded Software, ARM, as ARM today launched its new Jazelle RCT technology at the JavaOne Conference in San Francisco.

The aim of ARM, whose chairman Warren East (pictured) is one of the 12 founders of the company, is to dramatically reduce application memory footprint while increasing performance and saving power in a wide range of applications including mobile phones and consumer devices.

The ARM Jazelle RCT (Runtime Compiler Target) architecture extension expands the Jazelle technology portfolio to include optimizations for runtime and ahead of time compiler technologies, such as JIT and Dynamic Adaptive Compilation (DAC), providing support for all the leading Java technology and other execution environments, Howarth explained.

Jazelle RCT technology, he said, enables runtime compilers to target the highest performance while maximizing code density. "Using Jazelle RCT technology, code memory footprint is reduced by up to three times, which results in a reduction in memory accesses and hence increases battery life significantly."

"Anything that reduces the size of statically compiled Java bytecode will be welcomed by independent software vendors and embedded-system developers," said Tom R. Halfhill, a senior analyst for In-Stat's Microprocessor Report. "The ARM Jazelle RCT will enable Java developers to get higher performance without the code bloat usually associated with static compilation."