RE: [Embedlets-dev] JSIMM Minivan (was peer-to-peer)

[James C. <ca...@vi...>]

Ted,

One point to be aware of is that the most generic solution is also
almost always the hardest to implement. If there are some really good
80/20 wins in there for getting most of way to the ideal for the first
round then we should probably consider them to get the project off its
feet. Some of the concepts you talk about with dynamically generation
automagical wired self described widgets that make swiss army knives
look streamline may prove outside the scope of first pass
achieveability..

Just a thought.

James Caska
www.muvium.com
uVM - 'Java Bred for Embedded'



-----Original Message-----
From: emb...@li...
[mailto:emb...@li...] On Behalf Of
Ted Kosan
Sent: Monday, 30 June 2003 1:32 AM
To: emb...@li...
Subject: [Embedlets-dev] JSIMM Minivan (was peer-to-peer)


Topic tags:[ARCH][JAPL][WIRING][DOCS][MGMT][STRATEGY][NEWBIE]
_______________________________________________

JSIMM MINIVAN

I would like to elaborate on the design goal that I am shooting for with
trying to bring 'peer-to-peer' to the JSIMM backplane.  What I want is
maximum flexibility during the system assembly and configuration stage,
not during the operating stage, and I am more than willing to trade
speed that I don't need in order to achieve this.

What I want to do is to treat the JSIMM backplane like a minivan.  The
early Chrysler minivan advertisements focused on how many
user-achievable configuration options their minivans offered.  They
would show something like 50 top views of their van with 50 different
seat/accessory combinations and then say that in total, 250+
combinations were possible.  Minivans are all about solving as many
hauling problems as possible as cheaply as possible and for the most
part speed, beyond a certain minimum, is not even a consideration.

For the market that I am targeting the user is an 'embedded application
configurator' just like the minivan owner is a 'minivan application
configurator'.  I want an embedded application configurator to be able
to belly-up to a workbench that has a bunch of JSIMM backplanes, TStiks,
muviums, JStamps and JStiks sitting on it, along with a workstation
running the Embedlet wiring tool, and just snap together a solution to
an embedded problem that they have.

A point I want to emphasize here is that the flexibility is only needed
during configuration time.  For example, after the minivan has been
configured to solve the current problem (like take 6 kids to baseball
practice) it is frozen in that configuration until the next problem
needs to be solved.  For the typical family this configuration might
change on a daily basis and for a commercial application (like a
delivery van) one configuration might last the whole life of the
vehicle.  The type of embedded JSIMM-based applications I am thinking
about need configuration-time flexibility, not runtime configuration
flexibility (like a typical peer-to-peer internet application would
need).

IMHO, the killer market for Embedded Java is the flexible, configurable
embedded systems market.



EMBEDDED JAVA BASED PEER-TO-PEER 

A network-based computer is a computer that is made up of networked
computing nodes and Java is an operating system for a network-based
computer.  A Java based application really shines when it has the
flexibility to appropriately distribute parts of itself across the
network nodes that it is spanning and I want to use a JSIMM backplane to
allow the application assembly and configuration software to dynamically
place the appropriate Java objects on the appropriate nodes in order to
achieve the most efficient solution to the current embedded problem that
is being solved.

For example, assuming a CNC Mill controller problem, the application
assembly software might decide that using a TStik (for the CNC's logic,
network connectivity and persistent storage needs), and 2 muvium based
JSIMM cards (for its realtime needs), is an efficient solution.  If at a
later date a robot is added to this system and the robot has realtime
PID requirements, then perhaps a JStamp is plugged into the JSIMM
backplane and the application assembly software can re-distribute the
objects across the nodes to achieve an efficient solution to the new
problem.


So again, what I am shooting for is maximum flexibility at application
configuration time and for this goal, a slower flexible network beats a
faster inflexible one.

Ted

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