Performance-oriented development in the commercial computing world

On 10/26/2011 01:56 AM, Dave McGuire wrote: I probably should've elaborated on this a bit. I see three distinct "embedded worlds". The first involves tiny processors, usually 8-bitters, in 8- to 16-pin packages, clocked at a few kHz to a few MHz at most, with a few dozen bytes of RAM. These embedded systems are found in your TV remote controls, power managers for laptops, electric utility meters, air conditioners, etc. They are typically programmed to the bare metal. The second involves bigger processors, typically 8, 16, or even 32 bits, clocked below 100MHz with less than 1MB of RAM. They sometimes use an RTOS, but they don't run UNIX. (this is where I work the most) The third involves BIG processors, sometimes even x86, usually running Linux or an embedded BSD variant, but almost always some full-blown UNIX-flavored OS. The stratification between these three categories seems to be pretty clear these days, and some people "cross over" from time to time as required. -Dave -- Dave McGuire New Kensington, PA