TRON Project
Encyclopedia
TRON is an open real-time operating system
kernel design, and is an acronym for "The Real-time Operating system
Nucleus". The project was started by Prof. Dr. Ken Sakamura
of the University of Tokyo
in 1984. The project's goal is to create an ideal computer architecture
and network, to provide for all of society's needs.
The Industrial TRON (ITRON) derivative is one of the world's most used operating systems, being present in billions of electronic devices such as cellphones, appliance
s and even cars. The operating system is mainly used by Japanese companies, although interest in ITRON is growing worldwide. However, it has been said that there is much misinformation in the English speaking world about TRON due to the majority of the documentation being in Japanese
.
The TRON Project has been integrated into T-Engine Forum
in 2010.
s.
While the specification of TRON is publicly available, implementations can be proprietary at the discretion of the implementor.
announced its ITRON implementation based on the ITRON/68K specification, and the first TRON project symposium is held. In 1987, Fujitsu
announced an ITRON implementation based on the ITRON/MMU specification, Mitsubishi Electric
announced an ITRON implementation based on the ITRON/32 specification, and Hitachi
introduced the Gmicro/200 32bit microprocessor
based on the TRON VLSI CPU specification. In 2004, the governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara
mentioned "TRON was once killed by the former Minister of International Trade and Industry, Hashimoto, because he was at that time under the pressure of United States." This story is supported by an article on the tron project website, citing Microsoft's lobbying against it.
which develops open specifications for ITRON
, T-Kernel
and ubiquitous ID architecture.
The chair of T-Engine Forum is Dr. Ken Sakamura
. As of July, 2011 there are 266 members in T-Engine forum. Executive committee members includes top Japanese giants like Fujitsu
, Hitachi
, NTT DoCoMo
and Denso. A-level members who are involved in design and development of specifications for T-Engine and T-Kernel
, or of Ubiquitous ID technology includes companies likes NEC
and Yamaha Corporation. B-level members who are involved in development of product using T-Engine specification and T-Kernel includes companies like ARM
, Freescale, MIPS Technologies
, Mitsubishi
, Robert Bosch GmbH
, Sony Corporation, Toshiba
and Xilinx
. The supporting members and academic members involved with the forum includes many universities like University of Tokyo
, Japan and Dalian Maritime University
, China.
R1 (from 2003-04; Pentium III M, 866 MHz)
T2 (from 2003-06; Pentium M, 900 MHz)
W2B (from 2003-10; Pentium M, 1.0 GHz)
Y2C (from 2004-03; Pentium M, 1.2 GHz)
R3EG (from 2004-11; Pentium M, 1.1 GHz)
Real-time operating system
A real-time operating system is an operating system intended to serve real-time application requests.A key characteristic of a RTOS is the level of its consistency concerning the amount of time it takes to accept and complete an application's task; the variability is jitter...
kernel design, and is an acronym for "The Real-time Operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
Nucleus". The project was started by Prof. Dr. Ken Sakamura
Ken Sakamura
is a Japanese professor in Information science at the University of Tokyo. He is the creator of the real-time operating system architecture TRON.In 2001, he shared the Takeda Award for Social/Economic Well-Being with Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds....
of the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
in 1984. The project's goal is to create an ideal computer architecture
Computer architecture
In computer science and engineering, computer architecture is the practical art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create computers that meet functional, performance and cost goals and the formal modelling of those systems....
and network, to provide for all of society's needs.
The Industrial TRON (ITRON) derivative is one of the world's most used operating systems, being present in billions of electronic devices such as cellphones, appliance
Appliance
Appliance may refer to:* Home appliance, household machines, using electricity or some other energy input** Small appliances** Major appliances...
s and even cars. The operating system is mainly used by Japanese companies, although interest in ITRON is growing worldwide. However, it has been said that there is much misinformation in the English speaking world about TRON due to the majority of the documentation being in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
.
The TRON Project has been integrated into T-Engine Forum
T-Engine Forum
T-Engine Forum is a non-profit organization which develops an open standard for real time embedded system development and to develop ubiquitous computing environment. They develop open specifications for ITRON, T-Kernel and ubiquitous ID architecture. The chair of T-Engine Forum is Dr. Ken...
in 2010.
Architecture
TRON itself does not specify the source code for the kernel, but instead is a "set of interfaces and design guidelines" for creating the kernel. This allows different companies to create their own versions of TRON, based on the specifications, which can be suited for different microprocessorMicroprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
s.
While the specification of TRON is publicly available, implementations can be proprietary at the discretion of the implementor.
Sub-architectures
The TRON framework defines a complete architecture for the different computing units:- ITRONItronItron Inc. is a provider of intelligent metering, data collection and utility software. It has nearly 8,000 utilities worldwide relying on their technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water...
(Industrial TRON): an architecture for real-time operating systems for embedded systems; this is the most popular use of the TRON architecture- JTRON: a sub-project of ITRON to allow it to use the Java platform
- BTRONBTRONBusiness TRON , is a computer operating system with a graphical user interface built upon Central TRON , itself a subproject of The Real-time Operating system Nucleus...
(Business TRON): for personal computerPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s, workstationWorkstationA workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
s, PDAsPersonal digital assistantA personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
, mainly as the human-machine interfaceHuman-machine interfaceHuman-machine interface is the part of the machine that handles the Human-machine interaction- Overview :In complex systems, the human-machine interface is typically computerized. The term Human-computer interface refers to this kind of systems....
in networks based on the TRON architecture - CTRON (Central and Communications TRON): for mainframe computers, digital switching equipment
- MTRON (Macro TRON): for intercommunication between the different TRON components.
- STRON (Silicon TRON): hardware implementation of a real-time kernel.
Character encoding
- TRON (encoding)TRON (encoding)TRON Code is a multi-byte character encoding used in the TRON Project. It is similar to Unicode but does not use Unicode's Han unification process: each character from each CJK character set is encoded separately, including archaic and historical equivalents of modern characters...
, a way that TRON represents characters (as opposed to UnicodeUnicodeUnicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
).
History
In 1984, the TRON Project was officially launched. A year later, in 1985, NEC announced the first ITRON implementation based on the ITRON/86 specification. In 1986 the TRON Kyogikai (unincorporated TRON Association) was established, HitachiHitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
announced its ITRON implementation based on the ITRON/68K specification, and the first TRON project symposium is held. In 1987, Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
announced an ITRON implementation based on the ITRON/MMU specification, Mitsubishi Electric
Mitsubishi Electric
is a multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group....
announced an ITRON implementation based on the ITRON/32 specification, and Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
introduced the Gmicro/200 32bit microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
based on the TRON VLSI CPU specification. In 2004, the governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara
Shintaro Ishihara
is a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...
mentioned "TRON was once killed by the former Minister of International Trade and Industry, Hashimoto, because he was at that time under the pressure of United States." This story is supported by an article on the tron project website, citing Microsoft's lobbying against it.
Administration
The TRON Project was administered by the TRON Association. It has been integrated into T-Engine Forum in 2010. TRON Project activities have been taken over and continued by T-Engine Forum.T-Engine
T-Engine Forum is a non-profit organizationNon-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
which develops open specifications for ITRON
Itron
Itron Inc. is a provider of intelligent metering, data collection and utility software. It has nearly 8,000 utilities worldwide relying on their technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water...
, T-Kernel
T-Kernel
T-Kernel is an open source real-time operating system designed for 32-bit microcontrollers. It is standardized by T-Engine Forum. T-Kernel is distributed by T-Engine Forum under the license agreement called T-License....
and ubiquitous ID architecture.
The chair of T-Engine Forum is Dr. Ken Sakamura
Ken Sakamura
is a Japanese professor in Information science at the University of Tokyo. He is the creator of the real-time operating system architecture TRON.In 2001, he shared the Takeda Award for Social/Economic Well-Being with Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds....
. As of July, 2011 there are 266 members in T-Engine forum. Executive committee members includes top Japanese giants like Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
, Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
, NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo
is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
and Denso. A-level members who are involved in design and development of specifications for T-Engine and T-Kernel
T-Kernel
T-Kernel is an open source real-time operating system designed for 32-bit microcontrollers. It is standardized by T-Engine Forum. T-Kernel is distributed by T-Engine Forum under the license agreement called T-License....
, or of Ubiquitous ID technology includes companies likes NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
and Yamaha Corporation. B-level members who are involved in development of product using T-Engine specification and T-Kernel includes companies like ARM
ARM
An arm is an upper limb of the body.Arm may also refer to:-Geography:* Arm , a narrow stretch of a larger body of water** Canal arm, a subsidiary branch of a canal or inland waterway** Distributary or arm, a subsidiary branch of a river...
, Freescale, MIPS Technologies
MIPS Technologies
MIPS Technologies, Inc. , formerly MIPS Computer Systems, Inc., is most widely known for developing the MIPS architecture and a series of pioneering RISC chips. MIPS provides processor architectures and cores for digital home, networking and mobile applications.MIPS Computer Systems Inc. was...
, Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
, Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
, Sony Corporation, Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
and Xilinx
Xilinx
Xilinx, Inc. is a supplier of programmable logic devices. It is known for inventing the field programmable gate array and as the first semiconductor company with a fabless manufacturing model....
. The supporting members and academic members involved with the forum includes many universities like University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
, Japan and Dalian Maritime University
Dalian Maritime University
Dalian Maritime University is a university located in Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China. It is a key maritime institution under the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China.- History :...
, China.
TRON Project
- Tron.org home page in English
- T-Engine new home for the project
- TRON Web
- TOPPERS Project
- TRON introduction document
BTRON
- B-Free in Japanese. Free BTRON OS project.
- EOTA in Japanese. Free BTRON "EOTA"
- BTRON introduction (preemptive multitasking feature mentioned amongst others)
- Seiko Brainpad TiPO Plus (URL translated to English / PC Watch article / PDA running BTRON / launched 1998 / 640x240 4-grayscale LCD, IrDA, PCMCIA Type II, 170 × 100 × 20 mm)
- Chokanji, aka Cho Kanji. From Personal Media Corporation (PMC) http://www.personal-media.co.jp/index-e.html. A BTRON-specifications OS which runs on PC hardware. The PMC laptop "Cho Kanji Note W2B", announced on October 30 2003, includes a Cho Kanji partition with a full suite of productivity applications, including a word processor, spreadsheet, drawing software, card database software, communications software, and an e-mailer and browser http://tronweb.super-nova.co.jp/tronnews03-11-2.html. Chokanji V screenshot with English language kit.
- Pictures of laptops running Chokanji:
R1 (from 2003-04; Pentium III M, 866 MHz)
T2 (from 2003-06; Pentium M, 900 MHz)
W2B (from 2003-10; Pentium M, 1.0 GHz)
Y2C (from 2004-03; Pentium M, 1.2 GHz)
R3EG (from 2004-11; Pentium M, 1.1 GHz)
MTRON
- T-Engine Forum in English.
- Ubiquitous ID Center in English. What is ubiquitous computing?