The µPMOS Primer

A comprehensive introduction to the 80x86 Protected Mode RTOS directly from the designer of the µPMOS system, intelligible and fun to read:

Authored by the same person as the embedded operating system itself, this book not only introduces to the free 80x86 RTOS; also, it follows a praxis-oriented approach to describe the use of the most sophisticated 80x86 CPU operating modes: Protected Virtual Address Mode.

In an entertaining style, the authoress explains how a system composed of real objects naturally evolves from the basis of Protected Mode, segments, and how to build a highly robust, ultra compact operating environment on top of them. Memory management, real-time event processing, multitasking, and operational robustness are central topics intelligibly analysed.

By doing so, key features of µPMOS-such as its deterministic micro object system kernel, installable scheduling policies, extensible application environments, and signal handler object chains-are portrayed step by step as well as its many unique characteristics, like zone-based memory meshing, transparent service requests, or time domains. This portraying is enriched with enlightening asides why or why not particular features were included in the actual system design.

This book might become the ultimate companion for anyone interested in using, programming and re-implementing µPMOS and the ideal reading prior to studying the technical references. Anyway, because of its covering general OS design problems, it also is a rich source of information any serious system programmer will appreciate.