Real-Time UNIX® Systems


Book Description

A growing concern of mine has been the unrealistic expectations for new computer-related technologies introduced into all kinds of organizations. Unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment, and a schizophrenic approach to the introduction of new technologies. The UNIX and real-time UNIX operating system technologies are major examples of emerging technologies with great potential benefits but unrealistic expectations. Users want to use UNIX as a common operating system throughout large segments of their organizations. A common operating system would decrease software costs by helping to provide portability and interoperability between computer systems in today's multivendor environments. Users would be able to more easily purchase new equipment and technologies and cost-effectively reuse their applications. And they could more easily connect heterogeneous equipment in different departments without having to constantly write and rewrite interfaces. On the other hand, many users in various organizations do not understand the ramifications of general-purpose versus real-time UNIX. Users tend to think of "real-time" as a way to handle exotic heart-monitoring or robotics systems. Then these users use UNIX for transaction processing and office applications and complain about its performance, robustness, and reliability. Unfortunately, the users don't realize that real-time capabilities added to UNIX can provide better performance, robustness and reliability for these non-real-time applications. Many other vendors and users do realize this, however. There are indications even now that general-purpose UNIX will go away as a separate entity. It will be replaced by a real-time UNIX. General-purpose UNIX will exist only as a subset of real-time UNIX.







Real-Time Database Systems


Book Description

In recent years, tremendous research has been devoted to the design of database systems for real-time applications, called real-time database systems (RTDBS), where transactions are associated with deadlines on their completion times, and some of the data objects in the database are associated with temporal constraints on their validity. Examples of important applications of RTDBS include stock trading systems, navigation systems and computer integrated manufacturing. Different transaction scheduling algorithms and concurrency control protocols have been proposed to satisfy transaction timing data temporal constraints. Other design issues important to the performance of a RTDBS are buffer management, index accesses and I/O scheduling. Real-Time Database Systems: Architecture and Techniques summarizes important research results in this area, and serves as an excellent reference for practitioners, researchers and educators of real-time systems and database systems.




Real-Time Systems Design and Analysis


Book Description

The leading guide to real-time systems design-revised and updated This third edition of Phillip Laplante's bestselling, practical guide to building real-time systems maintains its predecessors' unique holistic, systems-based approach devised to help engineers write problem-solving software. Dr. Laplante incorporates a survey of related technologies and their histories, complete with time-saving practical tips, hands-on instructions, C code, and insights into decreasing ramp-up times. Real-Time Systems Design and Analysis, Third Edition is essential for students and practicing software engineers who want improved designs, faster computation, and ultimate cost savings. Chapters discuss hardware considerations and software requirements, software systems design, the software production process, performance estimation and optimization, and engineering considerations. This new edition has been revised to include: * Up-to-date information on object-oriented technologies for real-time including object-oriented analysis, design, and languages such as Java, C++, and C# * Coverage of significant developments in the field, such as: New life-cycle methodologies and advanced programming practices for real-time, including Agile methodologies Analysis techniques for commercial real-time operating system technology Hardware advances, including field-programmable gate arrays and memory technology * Deeper coverage of: Scheduling and rate-monotonic theories Synchronization and communication techniques Software testing and metrics Real-Time Systems Design and Analysis, Third Edition remains an unmatched resource for students and practicing software engineers who want improved designs, faster computation, and ultimate cost savings.




Real Time Computing


Book Description

NATO's Division of Scientific and Environmental Affairs sponsored this Advan ced Study Institute because it was felt to be timely to cover this important and challengjng subject for the first time in the framework of NATO's ASI programme. The significance of real-time systems in everyones' life is rapidly growing. The vast spectrum of these systems can be characterised by just a few examples of increasing complexity: controllers in washing machines, air traffic control systems, control and safety systems of nuclear power plants and, finally, future military systems like the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The import ance of such systems for the well-being of people requires considerable efforts in research and development of highly reliable real-time systems. Furthermore, the competitiveness and prosperity of entire nations now depend on the early app lication and efficient utilisation of computer integrated manufacturing systems (CIM), of which real-time systems are an essential and decisive part. Owing to its key significance in computerised defence systems, real-time computing has also a special importance for the Alliance. The early research and development activities in this field in the 1960s and 1970s aimed towards improving the then unsatisfactory software situation. Thus, the first high-level real-time languages were defined and developed: RTL/2, Coral 66, Procol, LTR, and PEARL. In close connection with these language develop ments and with the utilisation of special purpose process control peripherals, the research on real-time operating systems advanced considerably.




Technology in the 21st Century


Book Description

Many situations we encounter in daily life force us to recognize that we already live in the age of the information-oriented society. We also hear future prospects for life and society discussed in terms of expected advances in information and communications technologies. However, in these rapidly changing technologies, two weeks is a very long time and anything going back two years is almost a fossil. For instance, the word 'Internet' was little used two years ago, but now it attracts intense worldwide attention. This makes it very difficult to read the future with any degree of confidence. Generally, the key to creating new products and new markets is thought to lie in fostering market-oriented development. Today, though, when it is hard to grasp changes in the market place, we need to consider the case for basing our suggestions for new products and markets on readings of the future that reflect a proper understanding of the nature of technology, later 'brushing up' these suggestions with user- and market-oriented improvements. This book adopts the latter method. The book is divided into three parts. In the first, for technologies that promise to make great future advances, current efforts and achievements are described along with the directions in which these technologies are headed. In the second part of the book covers the development and production technologies that will be needed to bring new products to market. Finally, the third part explores systems based on these products and technologies, and share our practical vision of what the advanced information-oriented society will be like. Readers: engineers and technologists, IT-experts.




Event-Triggered and Time-Triggered Control Paradigms


Book Description

Event-Triggered and Time-Triggered Control Paradigms presents a valuable survey about existing architectures for safety-critical applications and discusses the issues that must be considered when moving from a federated to an integrated architecture. The book focuses on one key topic - the amalgamation of the event-triggered and the time-triggered control paradigm into a coherent integrated architecture. The architecture provides for the integration of independent distributed application subsystems by introducing multi-criticality nodes and virtual networks of known temporal properties. The feasibility and the tangible advantages of this new architecture are demonstrated with practical examples taken from the automotive industry. Event-Triggered and Time-Triggered Control Paradigms offers significant insights into the architecture and design of integrated embedded systems, both at the conceptual and at the practical level.




Imprecise and Approximate Computation


Book Description

Real-time systems are now used in a wide variety of applications. Conventionally, they were configured at design to perform a given set of tasks and could not readily adapt to dynamic situations. The concept of imprecise and approximate computation has emerged as a promising approach to providing scheduling flexibility and enhanced dependability in dynamic real-time systems. The concept can be utilized in a wide variety of applications, including signal processing, machine vision, databases, networking, etc. For those who wish to build dynamic real-time systems which must deal safely with resource unavailability while continuing to operate, leading to situations where computations may not be carried through to completion, the techniques of imprecise and approximate computation facilitate the generation of partial results that may enable the system to operate safely and avert catastrophe. Audience: Of special interest to researchers. May be used as a supplementary text in courses on real-time systems.




Linux Dictionary


Book Description

This document is designed to be a resource for those Linux users wishing to seek clarification on Linux/UNIX/POSIX related terms and jargon. At approximately 24000 definitions and two thousand pages it is one of the largest Linux related dictionaries currently available. Due to the rapid rate at which new terms are being created it has been decided that this will be an active project. We welcome input into the content of this document. At this moment in time half yearly updates are being envisaged. Please note that if you wish to find a 'Computer Dictionary' then see the 'Computer Dictionary Project' at http://computerdictionary.tsf.org.za/ Searchable databases exist at locations such as: http://www.swpearl.com/eng/scripts/dictionary/ (SWP) Sun Wah-PearL Linux Training and Development Centre is a centre of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, established in 2000. Presently SWP is delivering professional grade Linux and related Open Source Software (OSS) technology training and consultant service in Hong Kong. SWP has an ambitious aim to promote the use of Linux and related Open Source Software (OSS) and Standards. The vendor independent positioning of SWP has been very well perceived by the market. Throughout the last couple of years, SWP becomes the Top Leading OSS training and service provider in Hong Kong. http://www.geona.com/dictionary?b= Geona, operated by Gold Vision Communications, is a new powerful search engine and internet directory, delivering quick and relevant results on almost any topic or subject you can imagine. The term "Geona" is an Italian and Hebrew name, meaning wisdom, exaltation, pride or majesty. We use our own database of spidered web sites and the Open Directory database, the same database which powers the core directory services for the Web's largest and most popular search engines and portals. Geona is spidering all domains listed in the non-adult part of the Open Directory and millions of additional sites of general interest to maintain a fulltext index of highly relevant web sites. http://www.linuxdig.com/documents/dictionary.php LINUXDIG.COM, "Yours News and Resource Site", LinuxDig.com was started in May 2001 as a hobby site with the original intention of getting the RFC's online and becoming an Open Source software link/download site. But since that time the site has evolved to become a RFC distribution site, linux news site and a locally written technology news site (with bad grammer :)) with focus on Linux while also containing articles about anything and everything we find interesting in the computer world. LinuxDig.Com contains about 20,000 documents and this number is growing everyday! http://linux.about.com/library/glossary/blglossary.htm Each month more than 20 million people visit About.com. Whether it be home repair and decorating ideas, recipes, movie trailers, or car buying tips, our Guides offer practical advice and solutions for every day life. Wherever you land on the new About.com, you'll find other content that is relevant to your interests. If you're looking for "How To" advice on planning to re-finish your deck, we'll also show you the tools you need to get the job done. If you've been to About before, we'll show you the latest updates, so you don't see the same thing twice. No matter where you are on About.com, or how you got here, you'll always find content that is relevant to your needs. Should you wish to possess your own localised searcheable version please make use of the available "dict", http://www.dict.org/ version at the Linux Documentation Project home page, http://www.tldp.org/ The author has decided to leave it up to readers to determine how to install and run it on their specific systems. An alternative form of the dictionary is available at: http://elibrary.fultus.com/covers/technical/linux/guides/Linux-Dictionary/cover.html Fultus Corporation helps writers and companies to publish, promote, market, and sell books and eBooks. Fultus combines traditional self-publishing practices with modern technology to produce paperback and hardcover print-on-demand (POD) books and electronic books (eBooks). Fultus publishes works (fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, mystery, ...) by both published and unpublished authors. We enable you to self-publish easily and cost-effectively, creating your book as a print-ready paperback or hardcover POD book or as an electronic book (eBook) in multiple eBook's formats. You retain all rights to your work. We provide distribution to bookstores worldwide. And all at a fraction of the cost of traditional publishing. We also offer corporate publishing solutions that enable businesses to produce and deliver manuals and documentation more efficiently and economically. Our use of electronic delivery and print-on-demand technologies reduces printed inventory and saves time. Please inform the author as to whether you would like to create a database or an alternative form of the dictionary so that he can include you in this list. Also note that the author considers breaches of copyright to be extremely serious. He will pursue all claims to the fullest extent of the law.




Challenges in Design and Implementation of Middlewares for Real-Time Systems


Book Description

Challenges in Design and Implementation of Middlewares for Real-Time Systems brings together in one place important contributions and up-to-date research results in this fast moving area. Challenges in Design and Implementation of Middlewares for Real-Time Systems serves as an excellent reference, providing insight into some of the most challenging research issues in the field.