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A.I. Corporation became an ITRON Committee member with observer status in July 1999. For a complete, up-to-date list of ITRON Committee members, please visit the ITRON Web site.
Quick to realize the importance of software for embedded systems, A.I. Corporation has been deeply involved in this field ever since the company was established. The lineup of embedded software solutions includes middleware for communications, networking and storage, as well as compilers, debuggers, CASE tools and other development support software. Currently the company is making available "embedded middleware" solutions with a µITRON-specification OS at the core. Along with a file system, communication protocol and other middleware supporting µITRON, AIC provides technical support and engineering services geared to its customers' needs. The company's TRON strategy also includes support for US Software Corporation's µITRON-specification version of its MultiTask!-RTOS kernel.
Listed below are the publications prepared and issued by the ITRON Committee as of August 1, 1999. Please contact the sources indicated to obtain copies.
The revised edition of the µITRON3.0 Standard Handbook contains the latest version of the µITRON3.0 specification (Ver. 3.02.02). The changes made between the old version of the µITRON3.0 Standard Handbook (Ver. 3.00.00) and Ver. 3.02.00 are detailed in the ITRON Standard Guidebook 2. The changes from Ver. 3.0.2.00 to Ver. 3.02.02 involve only organizational changes and additional explanations, not affecting the technical contents.
The ITRON-µITRON Standard Handbook is a one-volume compilation of the µITRON Ver. 2.0 and ITRON2 specifications. Printed editions are no longer available, but the entire contents are available from the publisher's Web site.
The ITRON Standard Guidebook 2 is written with µITRON3.0 in mind. The earlier ITRON Standard Guidebook '92 - '93 remains as a valuable reference for use with the µITRON Ver. 2.0 and ITRON2 specifications, even though the dates in its title are now past.
| Name | Type | Price | Publisher | Issued | ISBN No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITRON-µITRON Standard Handbook | Specification (Jap.) | (out of print) | Personal Media Corp. | 1990 | ISBN4-89362-079-7 |
| µITRON3.0 Standard Handbook Revised Edition | Specification (Jap.) | 4,000 yen | Personal Media Corp. | 1997 | ISBN4-89362-154-8 |
| µITRON4.0 Specification | Specification (Jap.) | 5,000 yen (incl. tax) | TRON Association | 1999 | - |
| ITRON Standard Guidebook '92 - '93 | Reference work (Jap.) | 3,500 yen | Personal Media Corp. | 1992 | ISBN4-89362-197-6 |
| ITRON Standard Guidebook 2 | Reference work (Jap.) | 3,500 yen | Personal Media Corp. | 1994 | ISBN4-89362-133-5 |
| ITRON TCP/IP API Specification (Ver. 1.00.01) | Specification (Jap.) | - | TRON Association | 1998 | - |
| JTRON2.0 Specification (Ver. 2.00.00) | Specification (Jap.) | - | TRON Association | 1998 | - |
| µITRON Specification Ver 2.01.00.00 | Specification (Eng.) | 12,000 yen | TRON Association | 1989 | - |
| ITRON2 Specification Ver 2.02.00.10 | Specification (Eng.) | 15,000 yen | TRON Association | 1990 | - |
| µITRON3.0 Specification Ver 3.02.00 | Specification (Eng.) | - | TRON Association | 1994 | - |
| µITRON3.0: An Open and Portable Real-Time Operating System for Embedded Systems | Specification (Eng.) | $40.00 | IEEE CS Press | 1997 | ISBN0-8186-7795-3 |
The ITRON Committee held the latest ITRON Open Seminar on Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, July 1 at the Nihon Kyoiku Kaikan in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. These seminars are held once a year to provide updates on the latest happenings in the ITRON subproject, including presentations on implementations and applications of the ITRON specifications as well as additions to the development environment. This year was the tenth such seminar to be held. It focused on two main themes, the µITRON4.0 specification and the outlook for the next 15 years of the project. The special two-day format was chosen to commemorate both the 15th anniversary of the ITRON project and the 10th holding of the seminar.
The first day of the seminar, June 30, introduced the latest trends in the project as in previous years. The second day, July 1, was dedicated to detailed expositions of the newly issued µITRON4.0 specification. Since attendance at the previous seminar had far exceeded expectations, this year a hall with plenty of capacity was obtained, able to accommodate the 270 persons who attended this highly successful event.
A summary for each day is given below.
The two presenters at the morning session of the opening day reported on a year of accomplishments in the ITRON project, introduced plans for the next year, then gave an overview of the µITRON4.0 specification and of the study group responsible for drafting this specification.
The afternoon began with a panel discussion, where the panel members looked back over the first 15 years of the project and exchanged views on the next 15 years. Then in the session on ITRON-related products, applications and development case studies, the presenters described three development tools supporting ITRON-specification products and OS implementations, and two examples of developments applying the µITRON-specification OS. Of special interest was the announcement by Toyota Motor Corporation of its decision to adopt a µITRON-specification OS in the engine control system of its production vehicles, as reported a few days earlier in the trade press. The first day concluded with a special talk by TRON Project Leader Ken Sakamura.
Afterwards the participants moved to a different room in the same building for an awards ceremony and reception. To commemorate the first 15 years of the ITRON project, the following four individuals received special awards for their outstanding contributions to the drafting of ITRON specifications and standards during the past five years.
- 9:30 to 9:50 a.m. Overview of the µITRON4.0 Specification and µITRON4.0 Specification Study Group Work
- Hiroaki Takada (ITRON Technical Committee/Toyohashi University of Technology)
- 9:50 to 11:05 Part 1: Common ITRON specifications and static API
- Kazutoyo Inabikari (??) (Fujitsu Device Limited)
- 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Part 2: Concepts of the µITRON4.0 specification and interrupt management
- Hiroyuki Muraki (Mitsubishi Electric Semiconductor Systems Corporation)
- 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. Part 3: Functions in the standard profile
- Shinjiro Yamada (Hitachi, Ltd.)
- 2:45 to 4:00 p.m. Part 4: Extended functions and the automotive control profile
- Tetsuo Miyauchi (NEC Microcomputer Technology, Ltd.)
- 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. General Q&A
The next ITRON Open Seminar is being planned for around the same time period next year. Anyone with opinions to offer on how the event should be held and what it should cover is invited to contact the ITRON Committee.
The following companies helped sponsor this seminar. We wish to extend our sincere appreciation for their generosity.
The ITRON Committee promoted the ITRON specifications in a booth at the 2nd Embedded Systems Expo & Conference (ESEC '99), held July 7 to 9 at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight). ESEC consists of exhibits and technical seminars relating to embedded systems development technology. Organized by Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd., it was held for the second straight year.
As has become customary at events of this sort, placards indicating support for ITRON were to be seen in the booths of 37 exhibitors, including two taking part in the 8th Software Development Expo '99 held next door. Our sincere gratitude goes to all those who cooperated in this way.
| Advanced Data Controls Corp. A.I. Corporation Ampere Inc. Aplix Corp. Applied Microsystems Japan, Ltd. ART System Corp. ASTEC, Inc. AVAL DATA CORPORATION CATS Co., Ltd. Cosmo Research Corp. CQ Publishing Co., Ltd. DENSO CREATE INC. Elmic Systems, Inc. ERG CO., Ltd. EST Corp. GAIO Technology Co., Ltd. GAIO Technology Yokohama Grape Systems, Inc. Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. |
Japan Tech Co. INTERCOM, INC. K.I. Technology Co., Ltd. Komatsu Ltd. Miyazaki System Planning Office Nihon Cygnus Solutions Nippon Systemware Co., Ltd. Pacific Softworks, Inc. Japan Risoh Keisoku, K.K. SOFTBOAT INC. Software Development Systems TANBAC CO. Toshiba Information Systems TOYO Corporation VEST SOFTWARE CO., LTD. Victor Data Systems Co., Ltd. Yasukawa Information Systems Co., Ltd. Yokogawa Digital Computer Corp. |
The September 1999 issue of Interface Magazine (CQ Publishing Co., Ltd.) features a special series of articles under the general title, "A thorough study of the latest in embedded systems technology -- Java and µITRON4.0."
The feature included two articles on the µITRON4.0 specification released at the end of June: "Details of the newly released µITRON4.0 specification -- an outline of µITRON4.0 and common specifications" and "The µITRON4.0 standard profile and extended functions, including new functions supporting software parts and automotive control." Covering 27 pages of the magazine, these articles were written jointly by Hiroaki Takada, Kazutoyo Inabikari, Hiroyuki Muraki, Shinjiro Yamada, Tetsuo Miyauchi and Akira Yokozawa.
In addition there were two articles on the JTRON specification. Yoshiaki Asakura wrote on "Overview and implementation of the JTRON2.0 specification enabling coexistence of real-time tasks and Java programs," while Shinobu Nemoto contributed an article on "Java implementation in embedded systems using the JTRON-specification JBlend RTOS."
This newsletter is a special
edition for WWW of the one appeared in TRONWARE vol.59.
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