Thoughts needed

[Mark Dornfeld]

In article <224 at obie.UUCP> wes at obie.UUCP (Barnacle Wes) writes:
>In article <4144 at orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU>, kean at mist.cs.orst.edu (Kean Stump) writes:
>> 
>> I need recommendations for a multi-user multi-tasking os that will run
>> on the following equipment:
>> 	
>>	I have a Compaq 386/20 with 5 meg ram 
>	[ all sorts of goodies deleted ]
>> 
>> I'm also considering Concurrent-Dos and PC-MOS/386 as runners-up.
>> One of the major requirements is that real-time sampling on the order
>> of 10K samples/sec (~40 bytes/sample) needs to be possible (the Compaq
>> will spend some time on a chunk of ice in the Arctic next spring
>> collecting data from a variety of instruments dropped through a hole in
>> the ice) and a good C and FORTRAN (8-<) compiler are needed.
>
>Hmmm... Have you carefully though this out?  A Unix (or unix-like)
>system is probably not your best bet for doing data acquisition on.
>Unix was designed from the beginning to be a time-share system, not a
>real-time system.

QNX is is billed as a real-time OS.  It is
Unix-like, multiuser but can handle the kind of thing you
require.  I do not have the reference handy, but mail to me
and I'll look it up.  Or have a look in some recent issues of
Byte or PC Tech Journal; they usually advertise in there.

I believe that Venix, a System V port sold by VenturCom is
supposed to have some real-time capabilities.

VenturCom, 215 First Street Cambridge, MA 02142
(617) 661-1230

Both of these systems will run on an 8088/6 PC.

Mark T. Dornfeld
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queens Park
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
M5S 2C6

mark at utgpu!rom      - or -     romwa at utgpu