Realtime Linux Workshop in Vienna

demachina sent us an EE times article about the realtime Linux conference in Vienna. Attendees decided to endorse the Cygnus EL/IX API for Realtime Linux and to start work on kernel patches.

Comments

RTL - Unrefutable proof of Linux's maturity

[mathboy]

This is an extremely important even for linux. Its the chance for Linux to enter the hidden world where computers are in use in huge amounts, and few people are aware - in manufacturing environments. However, for robotic and process control, realtime (hard and soft) operating systems are required (as well as embedded systems, which Linux is also maturing into).

To have a high profile event like this is a CLEAR and STRONG message to traditional competitors that have controlled this field for years. Hilariously enough a large percentage of the machines are running DOS (its small and old and its bugs are
well known), but the rest are generally unix.

Unbelievably a large amount of this is SCO - the unix world's DOS :) There's a large amount of Sun boxes (many old enough to be pre-solaris) as well as HP and QNX, which is a cool ass OS no matter how you slice it. A large number of these are old just for the reason that they work fine and are well tested - but an upgrade is imminent.

What better than getting a system with fully open and free source code? This is almost more important to them than it is to applications users and coders - they need to get into the nitty gritty. Having a viable, stable, popular and open source and $FREE$ real time operating system is
going to catapult linux even further ahead than it already is.

I wonder when the IPOs in this market will start happening. ;)

More links to the conference

[SurfsUp]

More links to the conference (from Linuxtoday):

realtimelinux.org: Realtime Linux Workshop Day 3 Dec 20th, 1999

realtimelinux.org: Realtime Linux Workshop Day 2 Dec 20th, 1999

realtimelinux.org: Real Time Linux Workshop Day 1, Real people, Real place, Real time Dec 18th, 1999

but I have have few questions about this old news: How come I knew about this more than 24 hours ago and I'm just now seeing it on Slashdot?? Please, the stories are starting to lag way behind the news.

Also, some of us read this site in other time zones when the editorial staff at Slashdot seems to be sleeping: You need more editorial staff in other timezones.

One more thing, some of us don't quit reading Slashdot just because everybody at Andover goes home for the weekend: You need some editorial staff that doesn't quit on the weekend.

Realtime on Dos - don't laugh

[SurfsUp]

Hilariously enough a large percentage of the machines are running DOS (its small and old and its bugs are well known), but the rest are generally unix.

Don't laugh. I developed a big realtime machine control application last year on Dos. Now the application is being redeveloped for Windows NT - requiring a computer 20 times faster, with 16 times more memory and 10 times bigger harddisk. The NT version doesn't do any more, but it does look prettier and supports more hardware.

I'd very much like to develop this application on Linux, but it isn't going to happen this time round, because the support software we need just isn't available. However, I'm willing to predict that by this time next year we'll be looking into how we can do it on Linux, because NT by that time will be seen to suck very apparently in this application, due to bloat, flakiness, lousy documentation of api's and protocols, and miscellaneous licencing issues, to name a few reasons.

Let's see how it goes - in the meantime, I hope that Slashdotters are aware that this is a very key industry for Microsoft and they're pushing very hard to get a dominant position in it. So far, they're doing pretty well, no matter much their software may suck for realtime control. The PHB's just see the pretty colors and wizbang graphics and they're sold.