Hardware-based Object Layout in an Embedded Real-Time Java']Java Environments

Conventional cache memories act to bridge the gap in speeds between the processor and main memory. However, typical cache hardware takes no account of the specific characteristics of object-oriented programs, as a consequence it may incur a performance penalty. In this paper, we discuss how such a device can be designed to support Java objects. This feature is especially useful in the field of real-time programming, where cache determinism is a limiting factor in performance. In order to do that, we propose an object layout which splits objects into the same sized blocks to avoid external fragmentation while minimizing internal fragmentation.