March 1998, Issue 92

Picking a PC RTOS

This brings you up to speed about the kinds of issues you need to evaluate when selecting an RTOS for your application. But of course, anytime you need to evaluate anything based on more than one criterion, you need to make tradeoffs.

Some tradeoffs, like performance, are pretty firm. Others, like ideas about documentation, are more flexible.

Another important issue is familiarity. In many cases, assuming the RTOS you’ve chosen has the performance you need, being familiar with a particular RTOS has a lot of merit.

But, don’t let that cloud your judgment. There are several really good RTOSs out there. You can paint yourself into a corner if you don’t at least give them a look.

Check out some of the resources listed below. Many are Web and Internet based, so it’s easy to obtain and store them on your PC. I usually download information into my notebook to look at when flying.

You’re probably wondering which RTOS I ended up choosing for my sample robot controller.

Well, sorry, you’ll have to wait. I’ll give you some hints next month, when I take a look at software development for RTOSs.

Ingo Cyliax has been writing for INK for two years on topics such as embedded systems, FPGA design, and robotics. He is a research engineer at Derivation Systems Inc., a San Diego-based formal synthesis company, where he works on formal-method design tools for high-assurance systems and develops embedded-system products. Before joining DSI, Ingo worked for over 12 years as a system and research engineer for several universities and as an independent consultant. You may reach him at cyliax@derivation.com.