MSP430, with or without OS

Evgeny Ginzburg Nad.Oby at gmail.com
Wed Sep 10 08:47:11 CEST 2008


quatrox at gmail.com wrote:
> On 2008-09-09, Evgeny Ginzburg <Nad.Oby at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello
>>
>> I got the impression? that MSP430 have goo chances to be an MPU in
>> future hardware design.
>> I've recently found what open-source OS - COntiki (maybe more than one)
>> available for this platform.
>>  From paper [2] I understand that Contiki have event based kernel,
>> sounds good for MPU job and possibility to update/download new programs
>> during runtime (there is also possibility to replace the kernel to).
>>
>> The question: Is it possible or desirable to have a such "full" OS on MPU?
>>
>> P.S . I'm a nonprogrammer so _can_ speak absolutely nonsense.
>>
>> [1] http://www.sics.se/contiki/
>> [2] http://www.sics.se/~adam/dunkels04contiki.pdf
> 
> Personally, I feel it would be best to use it without any
> OS'es. A minimal bootloader could be nice, but I do
> not see any resons for anything else. I believe that
> running a OS will just make the code much more
> complicated, without giving us any advantages.
>

Got your points.
The advantages what I see from reading an informational papers follows:

1) Possibility to load/unload apps. You can run many programs/services 
on an MPU, you programs collection, stored in nonvolatile memory(ROM) 
may be bigger than MPU RAM. The only constraint applied is memory 
allocated to kernel. All another you can unload on demand.
Imagine the possibility to convert "general powersaver" to "flash 
burner" to "hardvare test suit" whatever you want.
(am I trying to reinvent BIOS?)

2) MPU work seems to be event based so Contiki's kernel already have 
event handling. It also provides multi-threading in loadable library if 
you really want it.

2) in development you don't have to implement all the general stuff, 
it's already in kernel, write your app link it to libraries provided by 
OS, run it. So code will be simpler IMO.

I see disadvantages too but prefer to speak pro, non contra.



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