Design of real-time signal processing software for efficient use of high-speed array processors in multitasking environments

The throughput of a minicomputer-based real-time signal processing system can be substantially increased by the addition of a high-speed array processor to the system. This paper explores the advantages of using multitasking techniques in those systems. It presents a typical signal processing problem, discusses its implementation problems using a single-task system, and examines the modifications necessary to efficiently use a multi-tasking system. It also gives guidelines for partitioning the applications program into tasks and discusses the use of semaphores for task synchronization.