Realtime Products Technical Summary

This "Realtime Products Technical Summary, Fifth Edition" from Digital Equipment Corporation (published in 1992) provides a comprehensive overview of Digital's key software and hardware solutions designed for real-time applications.

The document targets computer professionals investigating real-time solutions, defining core real-time system characteristics such as speed, responsiveness, predictability, and high I/O throughput.

It surveys a range of Digital's real-time offerings, categorized into:

• Realtime Operating Systems and Toolkits: Details dedicated real-time environments like DECelx Realtime Tools (for ULTRIX hosts and Motorola/MIPS target boards) and the VAXELN Toolkit (for VAX platforms), along with real-time capabilities built into general-purpose operating systems like VMS POSIX and DEC OSF/1 (featuring a preemptive kernel and POSIX compliance).
• High-Level Language Support: Discusses the use of standard programming languages (Ada, C, FORTRAN, Pascal, C++) and specific implementations like VAXELN Ada and XD Ada for embedded systems.
• Development and Integration Environments: Highlights Digital's COHESION Environment, which provides integrated CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering) tools for VMS and UNIX, DECfactory Products for manufacturing integration (e.g., BASEstar, DEComni, DECosap), and DECmessageQ for flexible, cross-platform interprocess message queuing.
• Realtime Hardware: Covers Digital's chip-level processors (rtVAX 300), single-board computers (KAV30), various VAX and MIPS-based workstations (VAXstation, DECstation) and larger systems (rtVAX, DECsystem, VAX 6000/9000), and a variety of real-time I/O options and industrial terminals supporting different bus architectures (Q22-bus, SCSI, TURBOchannel, VAXBI).

The summary emphasizes Digital's strong commitment to industry standards and Open Systems, particularly POSIX (IEEE 1003.1, P1003.4/D11, P1003.4a/D4), X Window System/Motif, TCP/IP, DECnet/OSI, and Manufacturing Message Specification (MMS). It also mentions Digital-sponsored programs that promote real-time solutions through third-party partnerships and services.