Soft Real-Time Programming with Linux

摘要

Nowadays it seems like Linux is everywhere. Okay, maybe it hasn't quite caught on as a major player in the desktop market yet, but the chances are good that your new wireless router or DVR has Linux under the hood. In fact, in the low-to-midrange embedded market, Linux is vying to be king—and you can't get very far in the embedded world without running into realtime applications. Historically, real-time constraints have meant investing in expensive real-time operating systems, and if you're building an antilock break system or interplanetary probe with hard (often submillisecond) timing constraints, then that's still pretty much the case. On the other hand, if you are looking for a soft real-time system where the timing needs to be very good but an occasional small blip isn't catastrophic, then Linux may be just what you're looking for.