A course project to design and implement the kernel of a real-time operating system

ABSTRACT

There is a desperate lack of training in real-time programming in the computer science curriculum. At best, students may write an interrupt driven program in an assembly language course. As a result, a majority of real-time programming in industry is done by enginers who understand hardware but have little training in program development for complex software systems. This paper describes a course project that can be used in an operating systems course or a course in real-time software design. The project development proceeds from the core of a real-time kernel outward to user calls to the kernel. The major components of this project are: the underlying data structures, the scheduler, input and output device drivers, programmer's interfaces to the system, and a series of user programs exercising the system. The original course was developed for an industrial environment where it proved to be quite successful. The project has been adapted for for use both in an operating systems course and a special topics course in real-time programming.

REFERENCES

• Allworth 81: S. T. Allworth, Introduction to real-time software design, Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., New York, NY, 1987
• DOD 82: Military Standard Sizteen-Bit Computer Instruction Set Architecture, p. U. S. Government Printing Office, 21 May 1982.
• Fairchild 84: F9450 High-Performance 16-Bit Bipolar Microprocessor, Preliminary Data Sheet, p. Fairchild Corporation, July 1984.
• Glass 83: Robert L. Glass, Real-Time Software, Prentice Hall PTR, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1983
• Peterson 85: James L. Peterson , Abraham Silberschatz, Operating system concepts (2nd ed.), Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 1985

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.7 Organization and Design
          Subjects: Real-time systems and embedded systems

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education
          Subjects: Curriculum

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors