Toward new-generation real-time object-oriented computing

In recent years, the market conditions for the real-time computer system (RTCS) technology and the hardware economy have been showing significant changes and thus this author feels that time is ripe for vigorously pursuing new paradigms in designing and structuring RTCSs. Pursuing the new paradigms is called the “new-generation (NG) or second-generation (2G) real-time computing” approach in this paper and this approach has the flavor of an idealistic perfectionist approach. The essence of the NG real-time computing is to realize real-time computing in a general manner not alienating the main-stream computing industry and yet allowing system engineers to confidently produce certifiable RTCSs for safety-critical applications. After a discussion on the new real-time computing paradigms, two examples of technical approaches formulated to realize the NG real-time computing, the RTO.k object structuring scheme and the DREAM kernel model, are reviewed in this paper. Issues for future research in this area are also discussed