Abstract
A Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) is a piece of software that sits between the hardware and user-generated code. In other words, the RTOS provides an abstraction layer that hides the details of the processor from the application software. Figure 5.1 shows how the layers relate to each other. Since it is smaller than a full-blown OS, we often call this a kernel or an executive process. In this chapter, we will focus on the RTX51, a commercial RTOS developed by Keil designed specifically for the 8051 family of microcontrollers.
Let’s start from the top with the application software. In the real-time system, this layer is split up into tasks, which are generic computational blocks with timing restraints, and synchronization and communication relationships with each other. This should be described in the design process. Generally, each device is represented by its own task.
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References
T. W. Schultz, C and the 8051, Pagefree Publishing, 2004
D. Kalinsky, Basic concepts of real-time operating systems, 2003
RTX51 User’s Guide, Keil Electronik GmbH, 2002
Demo Kit User’s Guide, Keil Electronik GmbH, 1998
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© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Qian, K., den Haring, D., Cao, L. (2009). Real-Time Operating Systems. In: Embedded Software Development with C. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0606-9_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0606-9_5
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