Technology

Operating system (OS) is the heart of any computer device controlling tasks like process scheduling, memory management, and driver implementation. There is a large difference between OS used in main frame or desktop computers, and embedded systems Embedded Systems An embedded system is a miniature computer used to perform a single task. This could be a medical device monitoring heartbeat, or a flight control system. Because of size constraints, the processing power as well as memory/storage capacity is less for the same.  Enter the brain Embedded Linux is a stripped-down version of the original Linux kernel, used in desktops. What makes it different is its capability to run in low power embedded systems, such as smart phones, tablets, medical equipment and avionics system. This OS is a classification of RTOS (Real time operating systems). It means they process data in real time mostly from sensors measuring humidity or temperature, and provide output within a fixed deadline   ...

  If hardware is the body... Then software is the brain controlling the tasks and operations behind the scenes. It provides memory management, task allotment, priority scheduling etc. Operating system or OS is mainly divided into two main categories Real Time Operating Systems (RTOS) or General-Purpose Operating Systems (GPOS) . The classification is based on how they allocate resources The difference GPOS is used in desktop, laptops, tablets or smart phones where the processor performs several tasks at once. Here deadline for a given process is not important, and small delays are overstepped. RTOS is used in embedded systems such as medical equipment, flight avionics etc where one task is processed at any given time. Here deadline needs to be met without compromise, and data inputs are computed in real time. GPOS are usually used in microprocessors which have high computation power and voltage requirements. Examples include Intel x86/64 and AMD Ryzen chips RTOS are used in microco...

The M series chip in MacBooks have brought about a revolution. Now we have processors providing higher speed, with lower battery usage. No wonder we hear ARM based laptops running 18 to 24 hours, on a single charge. This has even disrupted legacy chips like x86/x64 from market monopoly. Behind the Scenes All this is made possible by a chip architecture known as RISC. The acronym for Reduced Instruction Set Computer .  As the name suggests, here less is more. Lower instruction set leads to less complexity and higher performance. Data is stored in registers and executed result in memory. The Cycle Every instruction execution goes through the following stages Instruction fetch: In this stage, the processor fetch code for execution, from registers Instruction decode: The code is then decoded, and analyzed Operand fetch: The operands required is retrieved from registers Instruction execution: The code is executed by the processor. Result storage: The final data is stored in register or ...