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Modern life is surrounding us with microprocessors — from the watches on our wrists to the cell phones at our ears, from the microwave oven in the kitchen to the alarm clock in the bedroom. In the race to provide more and better features, designers are trying very hard to cram more "smarts" into every device. The dashboards of new cars are blossoming with a variety of detailed information, and even a basic telephone has a display panel and programmable features. Soon, almost anything powered by electricity that is more complicated than a flashlight will have features like email and a built-in Web browser, or some other advanced functionality.
The software programs on many of these devices are called ‘embedded systems’, and just like your computer, they have applications or programs running over operating system. Today, similar to people who use conventional computers, many embedded systems developers are being tempted to look at Linux as the operating system for their miniature devices. Linux appeals to the embedded systems designer for many of the same reasons it has found a home in desktops and servers all over the world. There are thousands of developers working on Linux at any given time and there is a huge pool of free source code and recognized standards for programmers to follow.
Many embedded systems require what are called 'real-time capabilities', which means basically that tasks must be executed within a certain time, so that other processes can run. The Linux architecture simply doesn’t work that way, because it gives every process waiting in a queue a ‘reasonable’ chance to execute. That not only means high-priority items don’t always get the first slice of Central Processor Unit time, they can even be interrupted so lower-priority items can run.
As well, Linux processes cannot be preempted, so when a real-time system has an urgent call for the CPU, Linux will finish the running process first. That makes conventional Linux unsuitable for tasks like continuous media, robotics or network routers. Some commercial vendors and open-source projects are attempting to meet the real-time market with Linux products, but so far, no definitive solution has emerged.
Although, to date, Linux proponents have been unable to duplicate the traits that commercial real time operating system vendors have put in their products, it is entirely possible that the same energy and imagination that made Linux number two after Microsoft in the server market could bring it a healthy share of the embedded systems market as well.
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Modern life is surrounding us with microprocessors, from the watches on our wrists to the cell phones at our ears — from the microwave oven in the kitchen to the alarm clock in the bedroom.
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