Welcome to the 21st century, where every device has at least one processor. But don't take for granted that these devices will do their intended jobs tirelessly and correctly, day in and day out, without fail.
With all the automation available today, it's easy for programmers to overlook costly overhead introduced into machine code by the compiler. Interrupt handlers are one key area worthy of a closer inspection.
Every commercial RTOS employs a priority-based preemptive scheduler. This despite the fact that real-time systems vary in their requirements and real-time scheduling doesn't have to be so uniform. Multitasking and meeting deadlines is certainly not a one-size-fits-all problem.
In the market for a real-time operating system (RTOS)? This article provides an overview of RTOSes and how you can select the best one for your project.
When tasks share resources, as they often do/must, strange things can and will happen. Priority inversions can be particularly difficult to anticipate. A basic understanding of the problem is key.
To keep a watchdog timer from resetting your system, you've got to kick it regularly. But that's not all there is to watchdog science. We will examine the use and testing of a watchdog, as well as the integration of a watchdog into a multitasking environment.
Network processors are programmable chips like general purpose microprocessors, but are optimized for the packet processing required in network devices. But what are they good for and how do they work?
