Real Time systems

25 December 2012
19:42

A real-time computing system is able to very reliably execute programs with very specific
timing requirements, something that is important for many science and engineering
projects.

For many engineers and scientists, running a measurement or control program on a standard PC with a general-purpose OS installed (such as Windows) is unacceptable. At any time, the operating
system might delay execution of a user program for many reasons: to run a virus scan, update graphics, perform system background tasks, and more. For programs that need to run at a certain rate
without interruption (for example a cruise control system), this delay can cause system failure.
Note that this behavior is by design: general-purpose operating systems are optimized to run many processes and applications at once and provide other features like rich user interface graphics. In
contrast, real-time operating systems are designed to run a single program with very precise timing. Specifically, real-time operating systems can allow you to:
• Perform tasks within a guaranteed worst-case timeframe
• Carefully prioritize different sections of your program
• Run loops with nearly the same timing each iteration (typically within microseconds)
• Detect if a loop missed its timing goal

[ Above Figure shows Hard real-time systems guarantee (when

programmed correctly) that a deadline will be consistently met, while
soft real-time systems may periodically exceed the deadline.]

When researching real-time computing systems, you may run across the terms "hard real-time" and "soft real-time". To clarify, hard real-time systems are designed to absolutely guarantee that a task will
execute within a certain worst-case timeframe. Therefore, for projects involving safety or systems that could result in a large investment in the event of failure, hard real-time is often a requirement. On the
other hand, soft real-time systems are designed to satisfy your timing requirements most of the time but without absolute certainty. This can be acceptable for operations like video processing, where a lost
data frame is not good but may not necessarily be a critical problem.

In addition to providing precise timing, real-time computing systems can be set up to run reliably for days, months, or years without stopping. This is important not only for engineers building
systems that need 24-7 operation, but also for any application where down time is costly. A "watchdog" feature is also typically included in real-time systems to automatically restart an entire computer
in the event that the user program stops running. Furthermore, hardware used in a real-time system is often made very rugged to sustain harsh conditions for long periods.

• Real-time operating system: This special OS is designed to run a user program reliably with very precise timing.

• Development tools: A compiler, linker, and debugger are needed that can generate code compatible with the real
time operating system.

• Drivers: For a real-time operating system to communicate with system hardware and I/O modules, real-time
compatible drivers are needed that can guarantee worst-case timing for most I/O operations.

• (Optional) Rugged hardware: Chassis used in a real-time system may be designed to sustain harsh environments
for long periods of time.

• (Optional) Computer with watchdog timer: An integrated watchdog timer can automatically restart an entire
computer if a user program stops running.

In summary, building a real-time system can be a good idea if you need to make sure that certain parts of your program run in a certain amount of
time, or if you need to run your program reliably for long periods of time. If you are working on a mission-critical or safety-related project, then the
need for building a real-time system is clear.

Even in the case where precise timing and long term reliability are not absolute requirements for your project, building a real-time system can
provide added peace of mind that your program will continue to run without interrupting your measurement or control process. If the system that
you are creating could result in maintenance costs in the event it is interrupted, the hardware and software costs required to create a real-time
system may be well worth the investment.

Note that a real-time system does not necessarily make sense for every measurement or control project. Real-time operating systems typically
only run one program at a time, and most real-time systems do not feature a user interface; in this case a separate computer must be used to
provide graphics or user controls. Still, thousands of real-time systems are in operation today and will continue to be a good solution for projects
that need precise timing and high reliability.
ActiveX
19 January 2013
09:45

It's happened to all of us. You're surfing the Web, having a great time, learning things you never knew, meeting
people you'll never "meet," watching videos and playing games, when suddenly a pop-up window appears.

It says that you need to download this thing called "ActiveX" to view the content on this Web site. Active what?
You read somewhere that you should never download anything from the Internet that you don't recognize, so now
you're stuck. Do you skip the site or do you take a gamble on ActiveX?

In most cases ActiveX is harmless. In fact, it can even be incredibly helpful. In Internet Explorer, ActiveX technology
allows you to play video clips directly in the browser window. It's what allows you to watch Web animation and
read .PDF files without opening up another application.

But ActiveX has also received more than its share of bad press. Over the years, hackers have disguised malicious
programs and viruses as innocent ActiveX downloads. For the average computer user, one ActiveX download
prompt looks just like another. The result can be a hard drive infected with spyware, adware and even infectious
worms.

So what is ActiveX exactly? How can it be used for playing Flash movies and animated GIFs on Web pages? And what are some things you can do to
protect yourself against ActiveX security threats?

ActiveX is a Microsoft-created technology that enables different software applications to share information and functionality.

ActiveX only works with Microsoft applications like Word, Excel, Internet Explorer and PowerPoint, and will only work on a computer running the Windows
operating system.

The idea behind ActiveX is that software applications don't need to be built from scratch. Early on at Microsoft, programmers realized that many of the same
functions could be shared among different applications. For example, a spell checker is just as useful in a word processing program like Word as in an e-mail
application like Outlook Express. Instead of writing two separate versions of code for the same spell-checker, they created a spell checker object. This object lives
on the Windows operating system. When any Windows application needs spell-checking functionality, it calls on the spell-checker object.

ActiveX technology began as object linking and embedding (OLE). In the early days of Windows, OLE allowed for simple cross-application functions
like cut and paste. OLE evolved into the idea of a compound object module (COM). The spell checker is an example of a COM. It's an independent
module, or applet, that can be accessed from any Windows application. COMs also allow for one program to be embedded into another. For example,
you can insert and edit an Excel spreadsheet from within Word without ever opening the Excel application.

ActiveX and COM are essentially the same thing. An ActiveX control is another name for one of these "objects," "modules" or "applets" -- like the
spell checker -- that run within larger applications

ActiveX controls are mostly talked about in reference to Internet Explorer, the default Web browser for the Windows operating system. Let's say you
open a Web page with Internet Explorer that contains video clips encoded as Windows Media files (.wmv). Internet Explorer comes pre-loaded with an
ActiveX control that allows for Windows Media files to be played directly in the Web page. In other words, you don't have to launch the
Windows Media Player application separately. The ActiveX control accesses the functionality of the Windows Media Player behind the scenes and
plays back the file in the browser window.

Another common ActiveX control plays Flash files (.swf). Internet Explorer can't play Flash files by itself. That's something only the Adobe Flash Player
can do. But if a whole Web site is programmed in Flash, you don't want to launch the Flash Player to view it. So Internet Explorer gives you the option
of downloading and installing the Flash ActiveX Control. The Flash ActiveX Control automatically detects when a site contains Flash files. It then
accesses the Flash player functionality at the operating system level and plays the files directly in the browser.

ActiveX controls are small applications written in common programming languages like Visual Basic and C++. They're similar in function to Java
applets, which are small programs that run within Web browsers. Applications that support ActiveX controls are called ActiveX containers. Each
ActiveX control contains a unique number called a class identifier (CLSID). ActiveX controls that work within Internet Explorer are usually associated
with a certain file or media type. This way Internet Explorer knows which control to launch -- Flash, Adobe Reader (for .PDFs), Windows Media
Player -- for each type of file

Pasted from <http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/activex-for-animation1.htm>

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