How to Use Real-Time Multitasking Kernels In Embedded Systems

How to Use Real-Time Multitasking Kernels In Embedded Systems

by Ralph Moore

Various surveys indicate that 40% of the embedded systems projects which could use

a commercial kernel or RTOS do not use one. From such projects, we hear reasons

such as:

(1) “Our application is too simple.”

(2) “We don’t have time to learn a kernel.”

(3) “We decided to fix the old (in-house) one.”

(4) “A commercial kernel is too expensive.”

While these answers may seem to make sense, they really don’t — not if you

understand what a commercial kernel can do for you and how to apply it to your

project. As one of our customers has said:

Using a kernel makes application software simpler to write. Do a

function, then wait on a semaphore — no need for complex testing. It

can reduce application software up to 50%.

Surely a tool which can reduce the amount of software you must create and test by up

to 50% is worth looking into!

The purpose of this booklet is to familiarize you with the functions provided by a

typical commercial kernel and how to utilize them. Once you have a better

understanding of this material, the benefits of using a kernel will become apparent.