Hi everyone,
FYI, aside of CarbonKernel (for the few who are aware of its existence
:o) I've just started a new free software project (GPL) called
XENODAPTOR.
It is an attempt to facilitate the migration of applications based on
proprietary embedded RTOS to hard real-time Linux variants such as
RTAI and RTLinux. Because the proprietary RTOS have much in common,
especially from the thread scheduling and synchronization standpoint,
it is possible to define an abstraction layer exporting a set of
generic services on top of which emulation modules of these RTOS can
be built. It is roughly the same approach that was used for
CarbonKernel (i.e. http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/carbonkernel/),
the RTOS simulator, but based on a "real" (i.e. not simulated)
operating system.
In other words, the principal motivation behind XENODAPTOR is clearly
to help application designers relying on proprietary commercial RTOSes
to move as smoothly as possible to Linux-based hard real-time
extensions.
I will first aim at providing this abstraction layer to support API
emulations of embedded real-time operating systems on top of hard
real-time variants of Linux. Those emulation modules will mimic the
corresponding real-time kernel APIs. For instance:
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| RTAI | RTLinux |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| XENODAPTOR abstraction layer |
| |
| XENO emulation of pSOS+ | XENO emulation of VxWorks |
+------------------------------------------------------------
| pSOS+ user application | VxWorks user application |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
The obtained abstraction layer will rely on the underlying real-time
Linux variant for hardware control and architecture-dependent system
software, and provide a high-level interface to the emulation
modules.
This project is hosted on savannah.gnu.org/projects/xenodaptor/.
As of now, there is only a roadmap and a source tree containing the
initial work (non-functional) on a nanokernel standing for the
abstraction layer. I expect this nanokernel to be functional on top of
RTAI/x86 in a few weeks, and perhaps the first emulation module
mimicking a commercial RTOS being available by mid-October or so. I
haven't made up my mind on the first RTOS personality I will write an
emulator for, but it surely will be among pSOS+, VxWorks, VRTX32,
Chorus Micro or perhaps Virtuoso. I will try hard to write some early
documentation about the nanokernel interface, but don't expect it
before November.
Well, that's it.
Questions, suggestions and volunteers are welcome as usual.
PS: I wish to thank the RTLinux and RTAI people who, by their
long-term effort in making real-time Linux a viable solution, have
also made this project possible, which I hope will be useful to them
somehow.
Best regards,
Philippe.
--
Philippe Gerum IDEALX S.A.S. - OSS Engineering
Embedded/RT - Chief Consultant 15-17, avenue de Ségur
+33 (0)1 45 51 32 46 F-75007 PARIS
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.idealx.com/
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.carbonkernel.org/
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For more information on Real-Time Linux see:
http://www.rtlinux.org/
