A distributed function computer for real-time control

摘要

Due to advances in hardware technology, processors are no longer the limiting factor in system costs--the software and configuration portions are now dominant. Hardware can be effectively applied to these problems as well: low processor costs have revitalized multiprocessors and multicomputers; the executive functions entailed by such architectures can be facilitated with powerful yet flexible hardware mechanisms. This paper outlines the hardware aspects of an experimental distributed function computer intended to examine these issues in the context of real-time control systems.