Hello everybody.
I joined this mailing list not a much time ago, and I'm already having
some disconcert with what is going on (especially, with this RTAI/RTL
stuff). So I want to point your attention to some issues, I count as
important:
1. RTlinux is a great thing, but it is not very convenient in handling
and deployment. It will be great, if the RT functionality could be
implemented in the mainstream linux kernel. I'm thinking about a policy
driven scheduler (in style of Solaris' kernel), that will support
different classes of processes (in the beginning just RT and TS
classes). It will be great to implement a "guaranteed response time"
feature in the linux kernel, too (just like in the Solaris).
2. Another heavy drawback of the RTlinux is a kernel space processes.
Such processes require excessive debugging and are somewhat dangerous
for system stability. This calls for implementation of user-space event
delivery mechanism (hopefully faster, than this in DOSEMU). Primary use
for this feature will be it utilization in the high-level
development/prototyping systems. It is very important to carry out a
rapid and cheap prototyping (especially in the academy world, but for
industry too) and computers nowadays are fast enough to revert from
compilation to interpretation techniques for control scripts (using such
environments as Mathworks Simulink or, may be, evolved Octave).
3. It will be nice to implement standard driver API. Comedy is useful
only for data acquisition, because it's developer's API is not flexible
enough.
These steps can carry linux to the new stage in it's development.
Microsoft and related companies are working on WinCE V3, that will have
(at least, theoretically) most of the listed features (included not
listed APM that is extremely important for low power embedded apps, and
completely uncovered by RTlinux developers; APM support requires kernel
redesign, because many tasks require prolonged sleeps and brief
wake-ups). In spite of financial pressure (and generous aid) provided by
Microsoft, it is highly important for us to undertake some steps, to
assure the presence of Linux on the ever-growing stage of embedded
products). I'll be grateful, if you will provide some commentaries on
the subject, because I'm sure that this point worse discussion (and
implementation in the following year).
Alex Dubov.
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For more information on Real-Time Linux see:
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