What is Special Purpose System?
Special-Purpose Systems - Distributed Systems
The discussion thus far has focused on general-purpose computer systems that we are all familiar with. There are, however, different classes of computer systems whose functions are more limited and whose objective is to deal with limited computation domains.
1 Real-Time Embedded Systems
Embedded computers are the most prevalent form of computers in existence. These devices are found everywhere, from car engines and manufacturing robots to VCRs and microwave ovens. They tend to have very specific tasks. The systems they run on are usually primitive, and so the operating systems provide limited features. Usually, they have little or no user interface, preferring to spend their time monitoring and managing hardware devices, such as automobile engines and robotic arms. These embedded systems vary considerably. Some are general-purpose computers, running standard operating systems—such as UNIX—with special-purpose applications to implement the functionality. Others are hardware devices with a special-purpose embedded operating system providing just the functionality desired. Yet others are hardware devices with application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that perform their tasks without an operating system.
The use of embedded systems continues to expand. The power of these devices, both as standalone units and as members of networks and the Web, is sure to increase as well. Even now, entire houses can be computerized, so that a central computer—either a general-purpose computer or an embedded system—can control heating and lighting, alarm systems, and even coffee makers. Web access can enable a home owner to tell the house to heat up before she arrives home. Someday, the refrigerator may call the grocery store when it notices the milk is gone.
Embedded systems almost always run real-time operating systems. A real-time system is used when rigid time requirements have been placed on the operation of a processor or the flow of data; thus, it is often used as a control device in a dedicated application. Sensors bring data to the computer. The computer must analyze the data and possibly adjust controls to modify
the sensor inputs. Systems that control scientific experiments, medical imaging systems, industrial control systems, and certain display systems are real-time systems. Some automobile-engine fuel-injection systems, home-appliance controllers, and weapon systems are also real-time systems. A real-time system has well-defined, fixed time constraints. Processing
mustbe done within the defined constraints, or the system will fail. For instance, it would not do for a robot arm to be instructed to halt after it had smashed into the car it was building. A real-time system functions correctly only if it returns the correct result within its time constraints. Contrast this system with a time-sharing system, where it is desirable (but not mandatory) to respond quickly, or a batch system, which may have no time constraints at all.
2 Multimedia Systems
Most operating systems are designed to handle conventional data such as text files, programs, word-processing documents, and spreadsheets. However, a recent trend in technology is the incorporation of multimedia data into computer systems. Multimedia data consist of audio and video files as well as conventional files. These data differ from conventional data in that multimedia data—such as frames of video—must be delivered (streamed) according to certain time restrictions (for example, 30 frames per second). Multimedia describes a wide range of applications that are in popular use today. These include audio files such as MP3 DVD movies, video conferencing, and short video clips of movie previews or news stories downloaded over the Internet. Multimedia applications may also include live webcasts (broadcasting over the World Wide Web) of speeches or sporting events and even live webcams that allow a viewer in Manhattan to observe customers at a cafe in Paris. Multimedia applications need not be either audio or video; rather, a multimedia application often includes a combination of both. For example, a movie may consist of separate audio and video tracks. Nor must multimedia applications be delivered only to desktop personal computers. Increasingly, they are being directed toward smaller devices, including PDAs and cellular telephones. For example, a stock trader may have stock quotes delivered wirelessly and in real time to his PDA.
3 Handheld Systems
Handheld systems include personal digital assistants (PDAs), such as Palm and Pocket-PCs, and cellular telephones, many of which use special-purpose embedded operating systems. Developers of handheld systems and applications face many challenges, most of which are due to the limited size of such devices. For example, a PDA is typically about 5 inches in height and 3 inches in width, and it weighs less than one-half pound. Because of their size, most handheld devices have a small amount of memory, slow processors, and small display screens. We will take a look now at each of these limitations. The amount of physical memory in a handheld depends upon the device, but typically is is somewhere between 512 KB and 128 MB. (Contrast this with a typical PC or workstation, which may have several gigabytes of memory!) As a result, the operating system and applications must manage memory efficiently. This includes returning all allocated memory back to the memory manager when the memory is not being used. virtual memory allows developers to write programs that behave as if the system has more memory than is physically available. Currently, not many handheld devices use virtual memory techniques, so program developers must work within the confines of limited physical memory. A second issue of concern to developers of handheld devices is the speed of the processor used in the devices. Processors for most handheld devices run at a fraction of the speed of a processor in a PC. Faster processors require more power. To include a faster processor in a handheld device would require a larger battery, which would take up more space and would have to be replaced (or recharged) more frequently. Most handheld devices use smaller, slower processors that consume less power. Therefore, the operating system and applications must be designed not to tax the processor.
The last issue confronting program designers for handheld devices is I/O. A lack of physical space limits input methods to small keyboards, handwriting recognition, or small screen-based keyboards. The small display screens limit output options. Whereas a monitor for a home computer may measure up to 30 inches, the display for a handheld device is often no more than 3 inches square. Familiar tasks, such as reading e-mail and browsing web pages, must be condensed into smaller displays. One approach for displaying the content in web pages is web clipping, where only a small subset of a web page is delivered and displayed on the handheld device. Some handheld devices use wireless technology, such as BlueTooth or 802.11, allowing remote access to e-mail and web browsing. Cellular telephones with connectivity to the Internet fall into this category. However, for PDAs that do not provide wireless access, downloading data typically requires the user to first download the data to a PC or workstation and then download the data to the PDA. Some PDAs allow data to be directly copied from one device to another using an infrared link. Generally, the limitations in the functionality of PDAs are balanced by their convenience and portability. Their use continues to expand as network
connections become more available and other options, such as digital cameras and MP3 players, expand their utility.
Frequently Asked Questions
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