Johnson, Tracy wrote:
> I have doubts.
>
> (It could be hype by a Java zealot talking to the press.)

A Java Zealot?  Would that make his behavior Jealous?  ;-)

> The report doesn't really "say" Java was used in this instance.

If I read it correctly, the article says that a company called Wind River
wrote the embedded software that's the operating system on the rover and
that the people who decide what the rover does run Java.  The Java program
takes in all of the data from the mission and creates a 3-D view for the
scientists.  The scientists can do a simulated trip of the rover or send the
commands to make the rover go where they want.

It also mentions that Wind Rivers's VxWorks RTOS runs the StarDust probe
that just grabbed some comet dust.

> It only says the Mars Rover Devices use it as an operating system.
> This seems to be a general statement which doesn't necessarily
> mean it is used in all cases, or even this one.

But it doesn't.  It says it uses Java to send commands to the operating
system of the rover.

> As far as an "Operating System" is concerned, do the devices
> actually "boot" to Java?  Or do they really mean the Mars
> Rover Devices use Java as an application to do certain things?

Putting aside the "operating system" remark, remember that Java and .Net run
on "virtual" machines.  The VM (or in .Net's case, the CLR) engine is the
part that talks to the hardware.  Certainly a VM could be the first program
that boots up and once in the VM, you're always using Java or .Net programs.
All device handling is abstracted in the program and translated to the
appropriate device by the VM.

That said, Sun has done some work creating hardware that does the work of
the VM:
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-278485.html?legacy=cnet

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