The Development Environment
A description of the development environments available to the INtime developer.
Exercise: Creating a simple C program and processing it through the MSC++ Developers Studio tool chain.
The Thread
An introduction to the thread concept within the INtime operating system. This section also covers thread scheduling and thread states.
Laboratory project: Building a real-time and regular NT task (multi-tasking) system.
Memory
An overview description of memory management. An introduction to shared memory within the INtime and NT operating systems as well as the usage of the object directory.
Interthread Communication
The description and usage of the objects used for interthread communication. This includes the data mailbox (queue), the object mailbox, the counting semaphore, and the region (a single unit semaphore with priority adjustment properties)
Laboratory projects: Interthread communication using both mailboxes and semaphores
Interrupts
This section starts with a comparison between interrupts and polling as a way to interface to outside devices. Concepts covered include the interrupt service routine, the interrupt thread and the communication mechanisms between them. In addition, the concepts of preemption, priority and single vs. multiple outstanding interrupt architectures are discussed.
Laboratory project: A simple interrupt service routine/interrupt thread combination.
Exception handling
A description of the handling of exceptions (errors) within the INtime/NT operating system. The distinction between environmental and programmer errors, how the programmer can set up automatic exception handling tailored to each portion of their application, and how to create an exception handler in addition to the automatic inheritance of exception handlers are all topics of discussion
Laboratory project: Creation and usage of an exception handler.
Device Drivers
This section starts with a description of device driver structures. The interfaces between the file system and the device driver and the procedures the user must write to create a device driver are also discussed.
Optional Laboratory project: Creation of a simple interrupt driven device driver for custom hardware.
Debugging Techniques
This section explores the rich debugging capabilities of INtime, including the use of Softscope and the System Debugger.
Demonstration: Looking at Softscope and Microsoft debugger features for threads.
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