17-04-2017, 02:35 PM
A real-time operating system (RTOS) is a computer environment that reacts to input in a specific time period. A real-time deadline may be so small that the system's reaction seems instantaneous. However, the term real-time computing has also been used to describe slow real-time output that has a longer but fixed time-out.
Learning the difference between real-time and standard operating systems is as easy as imagining yourself in a computer game. Each of the actions you take in the game is like a program that runs in that environment. A game that has a real-time operating system for your environment can feel like an extension of your body, since you can count on a specific "latency time": the time between your action request and the remarkable execution of your request by Part of the computer. However, a standard operating system may feel disconnected because the delay time is not reliable. To achieve reliability over time, real-time programs and their operating system environment must prioritize the update of deadlines before anything else. In the game example, this can result in lost frames or lower visual quality when reaction time and visual effects conflict.
An RTOS should respond in a timely manner to changes, but that does not necessarily mean that an RTOS can handle a large volume of data. In fact in an RTOS, the small response times are valued much higher than the calculation power, or data rate. Sometimes an RTOS will even have to drop the data to make sure it meets its strict deadlines. In essence, that provides us with a perfect definition: an RTOS is an operating system designed to meet strict deadlines. Beyond that definition, there are few requirements as to what an RTOS should be, or what features it should have. Some implementations of RTOS are very complete and very robust, while other implementations are very simple and suitable for a single purpose.
An RTOS can be event driven or timeshared. An event-driven RTOS is a system that changes state only in response to an incoming event. Timesharing RTOS is a system that changes status as a function of time.
Learning the difference between real-time and standard operating systems is as easy as imagining yourself in a computer game. Each of the actions you take in the game is like a program that runs in that environment. A game that has a real-time operating system for your environment can feel like an extension of your body, since you can count on a specific "latency time": the time between your action request and the remarkable execution of your request by Part of the computer. However, a standard operating system may feel disconnected because the delay time is not reliable. To achieve reliability over time, real-time programs and their operating system environment must prioritize the update of deadlines before anything else. In the game example, this can result in lost frames or lower visual quality when reaction time and visual effects conflict.
An RTOS should respond in a timely manner to changes, but that does not necessarily mean that an RTOS can handle a large volume of data. In fact in an RTOS, the small response times are valued much higher than the calculation power, or data rate. Sometimes an RTOS will even have to drop the data to make sure it meets its strict deadlines. In essence, that provides us with a perfect definition: an RTOS is an operating system designed to meet strict deadlines. Beyond that definition, there are few requirements as to what an RTOS should be, or what features it should have. Some implementations of RTOS are very complete and very robust, while other implementations are very simple and suitable for a single purpose.
An RTOS can be event driven or timeshared. An event-driven RTOS is a system that changes state only in response to an incoming event. Timesharing RTOS is a system that changes status as a function of time.
