RTAI

RTAI stands for Real-Time Application Interface. It is a real-time extension for the Linux kernel - which lets you write applications with strict timing constraints for Linux. Like Linux itself the RTAI software is a community effort.

RTAI supports several architectures:
* x86 (with and without FPU and TSC)
* x86-64
* PowerPC
* ARM (StrongARM; ARM7: clps711x-family, Cirrus Logic EP7xxx, CS89712, PXA25x)
* MIPS

RTAI provides deterministic response to interrupts, POSIX compliant and native RTAI real-time tasks.

Realtime Application Interface consists mainly of two parts:
* An Adeos-based patch to the Linux kernel which introduces a hardware abstraction layer
* A broad variety of services which make real-time programmers' lives easier

RTAI versions over 3.0 use an Adeos kernel patch, slightly modified in the x86 architecture case, providing additional abstraction and much lessened dependencies on the 'patched' operating system. Adeos is a kernel patch comprising an Interrupt Pipeline where different Operating System Domains register interrupt handlers. This way, RTAI can transparently take over interrupts while leaving the processing of all others to Linux. Use of Adeos also frees RTAI from patent restrictions caused by RTLinux project.

See also

* Xenomai

External links

* [http://www.rtai.org/ RTAI Official Website]
* [http://www.aero.polimi.it/~rtai/documentation/articles/history/ RTAI History]
* [http://www.rtai.dk RTAI Wiki]
* [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/D_Programming/RTAI RTAI wikibook]