Real-time systems refer to computer systems that are designed to provide a near-instantaneous response to external events or generate outputs within strict time constraints. These systems are commonly used in industries where a timely and accurate response is crucial, such as aerospace, defense, healthcare monitoring, industrial process control, and financial trading.
Real-time systems are characterized by their ability to process incoming data, make decisions, and generate outputs within a specified time frame. They are often required to operate in a deterministic manner, meaning that their behavior is predictable and consistent. Real-time systems typically consist of sensors or data acquisition systems to gather information from the external environment, a processing unit or algorithm to analyze the data, and actuators or output devices to respond to the analyzed information.
One important aspect of real-time systems is the need for deadlines to be met consistently. Failure to meet these deadlines can result in severe consequences, such as system failures, loss of life, or financial losses. To ensure timely execution, real-time systems use various scheduling techniques to allocate resources and prioritize tasks. These techniques include rate monotonic scheduling, earliest deadline first, and deadline monotonic scheduling.
Real-time systems can be classified into two categories: hard real-time and soft real-time. Hard real-time systems have strict deadlines that must be met, and any violation of these deadlines is considered a system failure. Soft real-time systems, on the other hand, have deadlines that can be occasionally missed without significant consequences.
In summary, real-time systems are computer systems designed to process data or respond to events within strict time constraints, often used in industries where timeliness and accuracy are critical.
