“Dubbed RTLinux, the OS doesn’t try to change Linux into an
RTOS, but instead provides a homemade RTOS kernel that incorporates
Linux as a low-priority thread. Thus the RTOS stays as small
and streamlined as possible — a principal goal of RTLinux’s
creators — while retaining Linux as the basis for common
applications.”
“June 15 marked the pre-beta release of RTLinux version 3.0,
which is compatible with the still-in-progress 2.4 version of the
Linux kernel as well as the current 2.2 version. In addition to
writing for the X86 platform, the RTLinux crew finished a PowerPC
port in November, and more recently completed a port for the Alpha
microprocessor.”
“…RTLinux is flexible with which Linux distribution it uses
— any standard distribution will do. … With RTLinux on an
X86 platform, interrupt handlers can spring into action within 15
microseconds of the detection of a hardware interrupt, compared
with 600 microseconds for standard Linux. That time window is
actually determined by hardware and will improve as processors get
faster…”