Kernel Creation¶
This chapter requires a minimum understanding of MicroEJ Module Manager and Module Natures.
Create a new Project¶
First create a new Kernel Application.
A new project is generated into the workspace:

Configure a VEE Port¶
Before building the Kernel, a target VEE Port must be configured. See Platform Selection.
Build the Executable and Virtual Device¶
In the Package Explorer, right-click on the project and select Build Module. The build of the Executable and Virtual Device may take several minutes. Once the build has succeeded, the folder myfirmware > target~ > artifacts contains the firmware output artifacts (see Input and Output Artifacts) :
mymodule.out
: The Executable to be programmed on device.mymodule.kpk
: The Kernel package to be imported in a MicroEJ Forge instance.mymodule.vde
: The Virtual Device to be imported in the SDK.mymodule-workingEnv.zip
: This file contains all files produced by the build phase (intermediate, debug and report files).

Expose APIs¶
A Kernel must define the set of classes, methods and static fields all applications are allowed to use.
Note
According to the Kernel and Features specification, no API is open by default to Sandboxed Applications.
This can be done either by declaring Kernel APIs or by definining a Runtime Environment.
The main difference is from the Application development point of view. In the first case, the Application project still declares standard module dependencies. This is the good starting point for quickly building a Kernel with Applications based on the MicroEJ modules as-is. In the second case, the Application project declares the runtime environment dependency. This is the preferred way in case you intend to build and maintain a dedicated Applications ecosystem.
A Kernel API or a Runtime Environment module is added as a dependency with the configuration kernelapi->default
.
<dependency org="com.microej.kernelapi" name="edc" rev="1.0.6" conf="kernelapi->default"/>
Add Pre-installed Applications¶
Your device may come with pre-installed applications, also known as applications that are already available when the Kernel starts. These applications are installed during the manufacturing process, such as in ROM alongside the Kernel executable.
To mimic this behavior on a Virtual Device, add a new dependency with the configuration systemapp-vd->application
.
<dependency org="com.mycompany" name="myapp" rev="0.1.0" conf="systemapp-vd->application"/>
Build the Executable in the Workspace¶
It is possible to build the Executable using a MicroEJ Launch rather than the regular module build. This speeds-up the build time thanks to MicroEJ Module Manager workspace resolution and Eclipse incremental compilation.
- Import the Kernel project and all Sandboxed Application projects in the same workspace,
- Prepare a MicroEJ Application launch for the Kernel as a regular Standalone Application,
- Prepare a MicroEJ Application launch for each Sandboxed Application using Build Dynamic Feature settings.
The following figure shows the overall build flow:

Kernel Build Flow using MicroEJ Launches¶
Kernel Application Configuration¶
Module Configuration¶
The build-firmware-multiapp
build type defines additional
configurations, used to specify the different kind of firmware inputs
(see Input and Output Artifacts) as dependencies.
The following table lists the different configuration mapping usage where a dependency line is declared:
<dependency org="..." name="..." rev="..." conf="[Configuration Mapping]"/>
Configuration Mapping | Dependency Kind | Usage |
---|---|---|
vdruntime->default |
Add-On Library (JAR ) |
Embedded in the Virtual Device only, not in the Executable |
default->default;
vdruntime->default |
Add-On Library (JAR ) |
Embedded in both the Executable and the Virtual Device |
platform->default |
VEE Port | VEE Port dependency used to build the Executable and the Virtual Device. There are other ways to select the VEE Port (see Platform Selection) |
kernelapi->default |
Runtime Environment (JAR ) |
See Runtime Environment |
systemapp-vd->application |
Application (WPK ) |
Included to the Virtual Device as pre-installed Application. |
Example of minimal firmware dependencies.
The following example defines a Kernel that exposes all APIs of EDC
library.
<dependencies>
<dependency org="ej.api" name="edc" rev="1.2.0" conf="provided" />
<!-- Runtime API (set of Kernel API files) -->
<dependency org="com.microej.kernelapi" name="edc" rev="1.0.0" conf="kernelapi->default"/>
</dependencies>
Build Options¶
The Kernel Application module nature section describes all the options available for building a Kernel module.
Build only a Virtual Device with a pre-existing Kernel¶
Copy/Paste the .kpk
file into the folder dropins