Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!ukma!nrl-cmf!ames!pioneer.arc.nasa.gov!eugene
From: eugene@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov.arpa (Eugene N. Miya)
Newsgroups: comp.os.misc
Subject: Re: why rare? [was: Re: Realtime OS's]
Keywords: Realtime
Message-ID: <11302@ames.arc.nasa.gov>
Date: 5 Jul 88 16:52:21 GMT
References: <10450@udenva.cair.du.edu> <8411@pur-ee.UUCP> <797@taux01.UUCP> <11053@sol.ARPA> 
Sender: usenet@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Reply-To: eugene@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov.UUCP (Eugene N. Miya)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Lines: 18

Real-time OS are rare for several reasons.  Don't "real-men" program
these?  [I'm a wimp myself.]  Seriously, consider the consequences of
many of these OSes: x-ray machines, radar systems, cars, weapons
systems, robots, assembly lines.  Why, you can kill people with some of
these (as James Burke would say).  I know one CS prof who believes a
RTOS is no different from any other OS, but I know others who put them
into completely different categories.  Until this riff is resolved,
you will have RTOSes.

More students need to be shaken up and they have to work with these.

Another gross generalization from

--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@aurora.arc.nasa.gov
  resident cynic at the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:
  "Mailers?! HA!", "If my mail does not reach you, please accept my apology."
  {uunet,hplabs,ncar,decwrl,allegra,tektronix}!ames!aurora!eugene
  "Send mail, avoid follow-ups.  If enough, I'll summarize."