Home >
Humanities And Science >
Modern Science
A quick definition of an operating system is as follows: An operating system is something like Windows, Unix, Linux, or Mac OSX. Basically a user interface that allows users to interact with their hardware and software. Although on a broader scale, an operating system also includes things like programmable thermostats, or even a remote control for your television.
A real time operating system then is just as the name implies, an operating system for real time applications. Real time applications means anything from a complex power tool to a digital watch.
Basically, just about any complex piece of electronic equipment is going to have an embedded real time operating system, or, an "embedded RTOS", if you're lacing an order and you're starting to get tired of writing "real time operating system" over and over. These embedded computer systems are pretty much all that allow users to interact with these items in the first place, and without them, you don't have a portable video game or a GPS unit, but a hunk of plastic that, while it may have great computing power, is technically useless to any real live human beings.
The Arm7 RTOS is an RTOS that works on an embedded board computer, for example. Embedded board computers have fallen out of favour in home computers, where a mother board system is more common, but have remained the only real option for portable electronics, so wherever there are embedded systems rtos will be the only way for users to interact with them.
A big problem manufacturers face is finding a way to get embedded RTOS systems without spending half the project's budget all in one drop. Like embedded computers, embedded operating systems need to be custom made for each individual project.
When you use motherboard computers, this isn't a problem, as motherboards end their counterpart daughter boards are pretty much universally compatible, and you can easily build your own system from the various components. however, you can't really use a motherboard system in something like an MP3 player or a portable video game, so, for an operating system, you can't very well download Windows or Unix onto a dedicated embedded board computer.
The problem has to do with mass production. Anyone who's worked in factories knows that it's actually cheaper by unit to produce a million of something than it is to produce just a few hundred at a time. They make millions of identical motherboards for home computers, so those are cheap, and that's a big part of why the price of home computers is going down. So if you need something designed just for your product, and you only need so many, it's not always easy finding a manufacturer who will give you a good price.
All we can say on this is that there are some deals out there if you know where to look. It is definitely vital that you get a break on embedded boards and embedded RTOS, as the sheer cost of having things custom built in smallish numbers can really eat into your budget.