Index Real-Time Magazine 99q3 on POOR QUALITY RTOS

Index Real-Time Magazine 3Q99

Editorial
By Martin Timmerman, Chief-Editor of Real-Time Magazine, Real-Time Consult.
POOR QUALITY RTOS - 99q3 - p. 3
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RTOS EVALUATIONS

PSOS 2.2.6. Evaluation
Executive Summary
The following article is an executive summary of the evaluation report of pSOSystem/x86 2.2.6 from
Integrated Systems, Inc.

By Martin Timmerman, Chief-Editor of Real-Time Magazine, Bart Van Beneden Project Manager, Real-Time Consult.
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 6
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RTOS Evaluation Project
Latest News
In the summer of 1998, Real-Time Consult launched an RTOS evaluation program.
This paper contains the latest developments in this project.

By Bart Van Beneden,
Project Manager,
Real-Time Consult
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 10
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To the editor of Real Time
Dear Editor,
In your magazine, issue 2 of 1999, you have published an executive summary of your INtime 1.20
Evaluation (page 9 and following). In my opinion your summary is a bit too negative at a few points,
which I would like to correct here:

By Jan Baan,
INtime Application Consultant,
RadiSys BV
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 12
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RT-DOCTOR

Is Real-Time Ready for Prime-Time?
A White Paper on What Is Missing
from Real-Time Development Tools
Real-Time system development has been around for as long as computers – more than 30 years. The
modern mix of commercial RTOS and C compilers goes back at least 20 years. However these tools
and their updated offspring still do not offer the most basic capabilities needed to turn real-time soft-
ware and system development from an art to an engineering discipline. The lack of rigorous design,
simulation, review, validation, test and update methodologies or tools is surprising, considering how
long people have had to work on this problem. This white paper explores what is still missing in this
field, and why it is needed. The paper concludes with definitions of 26 terms relevant to this topic.

By Kim Rubin,
Chief Technology Officer, Computer Group,
SBS Technology, Inc.
RTOS UPDATE 1 -99q3 - p. 13
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OSEK

Technology for a New Automotive Era
* Growing stringent environmental and safety regulations
* End-user comfort and entertainment value
* Increased pressure on cost and differentiation factors
These are the main forces propelling the automotive industry into a complete new technological
world: the electronic revolution.

By Erwan Paccard,
Automotive Market Manager,
CS VERILOG
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 20
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An integrated concept of handling
preemptions and interrupts
for automotive real-time operating systems
The main duty of a RTOS in embedded automotive systems is the scheduling of the applications
tasks. Using a microcontroller providing several interrupt priorities, the scheduling of interrupt service
requests is performed by the hardware directly. In cases a task wants to lock certain interrupt levels or
a task has to be activated from an interrupt routine, interactions between both scheduling schemes
are introduced. These interactions at the interface between hardware and software are very subtle and
thus have to be treated in a profound manner. Deficiencies in the RTOS design concerning the inter-
rupt handling may result in errors that only occur in rare event scenarios and are thus hard to detect.
This paper describes a method to treat the priorities of tasks and interrupts in a homogeneous way.
Common errors found in RTOS designs are avoided and the overall efficiency benefits from transfer-
ing parts of the scheduling effort to the hardware.

By Dr. Andree Zahir,
Assistant Manager Research & Development,
ETAS GmbH & Co.KG
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 25
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Designing an OSEK
Development Environment for
Automotive Applications
Today’s automotive manufacturers are challenged with replacing traditional electromechanical
systems with complex embedded systems. At present, a variety of software environments are used
by suppliers, both off the shelf and bespoke, making it very difficult to change CPU suppliers or reuse
the software in a new generation of products. The OSEK/VDX standard is emerging as a possible
answer, with standardised interfaces and functionality, the OS supports re-usability and portability of
application software modules and therefore reduces development cost.
Developing complex OSEK-based systems requires additional OS aware tools to minimize important
development time. OS awareness is not a trivial issue and requires tight integration between the
development environment of OSEK, the debugging tools, and means of communicating with such
tools. One solution is a totally Integrated Development Environment (IDE) incorporating tools and
OS from the same vendor delivering OSEK awareness and connections to high level case tools.

By Neale Foster,
Automotive Market Development Manager,
Wind River Systems
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 33
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Debugging and Optimising
OSEK Kernels in Real-Time
An OSEK kernel provides a framework for building a real-time application as a series of tasks and for
allocating resources among, and communicating between, those tasks. Thus, the operation of the
kernel has a profound effect on the efficiency and effectiveness of the application. And in turn,
debugging, testing, Verification and Validation of the application requires accurate measurement of
the behaviour and performance of the kernel. This article describes a “System-Level Debugger” that
displays the kernel and task activity based on a defined interface between the debugger software
and the kernel, together with the appropriate hardware instruments for real-time performance
measurement and tracing.

By Hugh O’Keeffe, R&D Manager,
Ashling Microsystems Ltd.
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 37
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JAVA

Java gets real for embedded
SW development
Java is a clean, modern, easy to learn, network centric, object oriented language originally meant for
embedded devices. After some initial interest in Java by the embedded community Java has not yet
become mainstream because of memory and processor constraints. With the emergence of new low
cost, low power application specific 32 bit embedded microprocessors at an astounding rate, embed-
ded engineers find themselves relying heavily on software to add value to their products. This fact is
triggering renewed interest in Java as a productive platform for embedded applications of the future.
This article describes the current state of Java and some interesting (RT) Java implementations.

By Joost Backus, Engineer, Mountside Software Engineering,
Nick Snijder, CEO, Snijder Micro Systems
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 41
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The Evolution of JAVA Technology
for Embedded Systems
Jon Hoskin, the Chief Technology Officer of Insignia Solutions, looks into the challenges faced when
using Java in embedded systems. Size, performance and predictability are the three key areas under
scrutiny. In order to look at the current situation more objectively, “Java technology” is separated into
two aspects: 1) specification, and 2) implementation. It is proposed that the current specifications for
Java platforms are not at fault, but rather, most current implementations are not viable for many
embedded systems. The article begins with an introduction to the Java platform before going onto
examine the key challenges with references to size/functionality trade offs, dynamic compilation and
precise garbage collection.

By Jonathan Hoskin, D.Phil,
Chief Technology Officer,
Insignia Solutions
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 45
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Alternative Java Threading Designs
for Real-Time Environments
When using Java in embedded real-time applications, software developers must consider the ways
that Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) handle Java thread mapping. Thread mapping affects JVM
robustness, maintainability, and system resource utilization including memory requirements.
The industry’s three leading Java thread mapping techniques – task-per-thread, encapsulation,
and thread-to-thread – each have very different impacts on application development. Encapsulation
technology, engineered from inception for embedded environments, demonstrates excellent
performance in the embedded environment: it simplifies many aspects of integrating a JVM into
an embedded system, reduces memory requirements, and isolates applications in native code
from unintended influence by Java application code.

By Marius Gafen,
Executive Vice President of Marketing,
NSIcom Ltd.
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 53
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WINDOWS-NT

Distributed Real Time Computing
with Windows NT
Windows NT by itself may not be the optimal solution for real-time computing, but there are various
options to extend the operating system. One of these, RadiSys Corporation’s INtime real-time exten-
sion for Windows NT has been enhanced to provide distributed options, resulting in a highly scaleable
feature set. This article discusses why the feature set has been extended and how it effects scalability.

By Jan Baan,
INtime Application Consultant,
RadiSys BV
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 57
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ProConOS NT – Realtime
Software-PLC on Windows NT
As Windows NT has no determined behavior due to the usual reaction times for fast controllers, a PLC
runtime system must be embedded into an appropriate realtime extension. For this reason different
realtime extensions for Windows NT are available in the market. However, besides the licenses of
Windows NT and the PLC runtime system, this causes additional costs for the realtime extension
and/or hardware extensions. Therefore Kloepper und Wiege Software GmbH have decided to develop
and offer their own realtime extension as a system solution for the PLC runtime system ProConOS.

By Bernd Pelzer, Responsible for marketing and sales of the standard software MULTIPROG wt and ProConOS,
Klöpper und Wiege Software GmbH
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 60
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HOT-SWAPPING

Hot swapping with CompactPCI –
A challenge for the mechanical
environment
Availability of industrial computer systems is becoming an increasingly important issue. When
considering availability, it is easy to forget that mechanical environmental conditions are crucial to
ensuring fail-safe operation. This is particularly true when it comes to hot swapping of components
in CompactPCI systems. As a leading vendor of complete microcomputer packaging systems (MPS),
Schroff (based in Straubenhardt/ Germany) delivers reliable CompactPCI solutions, designed down
to the very last detail.

By Volker Oestreich,
Director of MPS business unit,
Schroff GmbH
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 63
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MARKET-TRENDS

Real-Time Linux – Where is it now?
In recent years the Linux operating system has gained quite a following and continues to do so.
However, despite its reputation for performance and reliability on office and ISP servers to date, Linux
still enjoys only marginal popularity in the desktop market and is virtually unknown for many other
industrial and multi-media applications. Nonetheless, the perception of Linux as the province of a
committed fringe group of open-source advocates and opponents of Microsoft, is changing rapidly
for a variety of technical and commercial reasons. The introduction of hard real-time extensions to
Linux has opened and extended standard Linux to make it applicable to the industrial and embedded
arenas. This article presents an overview of the current state of play with respect to both the technical
and the business aspects of Real-Time Linux as an RTOS.

By James Norton, Co-founder and CEO, Zentropic Computing, Clark Roundy, Vice President of Marketing and Sales,
Alta Technology Corporation
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 68
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Subsystem Hardware Gets
Soft Around the Edges
Purchasers of subsystem hardware in the telecommunication industry are putting increased demands
on board suppliers, asking them to get a little soft around the edges – essentially adding software
components to traditional hardware solutions. While the majority of OEMs continue to develop their
own software, increasingly, many no longer want to invest the time and resources it takes to develop
in-house if they can purchase effective solutions from outside vendors. This article explores why
hardware suppliers have added software capabilities to their previously hardware-only solutions and
how these commercial off-the-shelf solutions are providing telecom developers with significant cost,
flexibility and time-to-market benefits.

By Todd Wynia,
Vice President of Marketing,
Artesyn Communication Products
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 72
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eCos and Open Source
There has been a lot of hype recently about open source software and Linux. These discussions have
been focused on how Linux represents the first major threat to Microsoft’s domination of the desktop.
However, open source software is also moving into the embedded real-time marketplace. Cygnus
Solutions last year unveiled a new open source initiative called eCos (Embedded Cygnus Operating
System) which has been downloaded by well over 10,000 developers. This article will describe three
of them and their reactions to eCos.

By Charles Curley,
Cygnus Solutions
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 74
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TOOLS

Bridging the Embedded and
Connected Worlds with CORBA
The Internet is a constant reminder that we live in a highly connected world, where people and
products communicate quickly and easily. This connected world depends on embedded systems,
ranging from massive central office switches and routers to compact cell phones. But connectivity
is not just about geographical distribution. Many embedded products are themselves distributed
systems, using a back plane or small local network to provide connectivity of processors within the
system. Distribution is often used to increase the performance, scalability, and availability of embedded
systems. The increasing customer demand for distributed applications, coupled with advances in the
enabling technologies of networking hardware and high speed processors, has made distribution a
mandatory ingredient of many embedded systems. This article discusses the key issues to consider
for a distribution infrastructure, and how Object Request Brokers (ORBs) can extend operating
system capabilities to provide a bridge between the embedded and connected worlds. By using
commercial solutions, designers can focus on application development rather than infrastructure,
thus accelerating product delivery.

By Andrew Lyons,
Senior Applications Specialist,
ObjecTime Limited
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 77
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Implementing IP-based
Object Methods in a
Real-Time Web/ORDB Server
Direct web browser access to distributed on-line database information is an important element in
providing high Quality of Service (QoS) for real-time web sites. A uniquely powerful capability allows
Polyhedra to function as a web server allowing web browsers direct access to data running in main
memory. As a web/database server, it can deliver pages in real-time using information updated from
a variety of external data sources. The ability allows high-speed on-line read/write operations to
significantly more concurrent web browsers. Another unique feature, Active Queries, provides a
fine-grained SQL Push Technology that is built into the database.

By Dr. Nigel Day, Technical Director, Polyhedra Plc,
Dave Morse, President, Polyhedra, Inc.
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 82
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Rapid Application Development for
Embedded Systems
The article discusses a methodology to accelerate project schedules by implementing parallel
software and hardware development. It defines the RTOS characteristics required for this strategy
and explains how OS-9 meets the requirements. Graphics are included to clarify the effects of
RAD on project schedules, and to explain the OS-9 architecture. The article also discusses other
architectural elements of OS-9 that increase the efficiency of application software and system
software development for embedded systems.

By Ann C. Schaffer,
Product Manager,
Microware Systems Corporation
RTOS UPDATE 1 - 99q3 - p. 84
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