As we watch Internet-centric connected computing emerge as the next growth area, we will also see how modern, third-generation real-time operating system technology is refined to meet the demands of this new area.
While desktop computing has fallen by the wayside in compactness, reliability and efficiency, RTOS technology has advanced because customer demands have emphasized the development of all these areas. As a result, modern RTOSes have the foundation to add the feature sets that Internet-centric connected devices require for their continued evolution.
Open-source application programming interfaces such as Posix, and now Linux, have fueled the development of many new COTS-based technologies that are easily adapted for operation in embedded environments. As its popularity grows, Linux will also influence the design of new RTOSes. Binary and source compatibility with Linux is giving these new RTOSes the ability to run existing Linux code on top of a solid foundation of determinism, reliability and connectivity.
The Linux API has become a Rosetta stone for the embedded world, enabling the unification of a number of approaches to the same problems in a COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) fashion. Lightweight graphical user interfaces, sound APIs, Java, power management and protected memory management are all features that have been refined and modularized under Linux in a way that makes them highly suitable for embedded systems.
Finally, perhaps the largest and most important piece that Linux has brought to the table is its exhaustive, modular networking feature set. Most modern networking technology is prototyped and implemented under Linux systems. Building on this trend, RTOS vendors tracking Linux are taking advantage of their low-level compatibility with Linux to incorporate this networking technology into their offerings to keep pace with the evolving Net-centric devices.
Vik Sohal is a senior systems engineer and one of the cofounders of LynuxWorks (San Jose, Calif.).
