Evans Data Corp. (EDC) asked over 400 software/hardware developers the question, “What is the most important consideration in selecting an embedded operating system?,” as part of its latest Embedded Systems Development Survey. Here's what they learned . . .

Real time is one of those concepts that everyone thinks they need or, even if they aren't sure, they want to have the capability just in case. About the only operating system that does not make consistent claims for real-time performance is Linux, and even their various vendors offer enhancements that are claimed to make it real-time to one extent or another. If the user community were convinced that embedded Linux had certified real-time credentials, its rating for next project use would doubtless be even higher than it is at this time. This seems reasonable because Linux already satisfies the three next most popular criteria: royalty free licensing, it runs on a variety of CPUs and it provides access to source code.

It is also interesting that while high availability took precedence over real-time capabilities as an issue in system design, real-time remains far and away the highest priority in an RTOS. This is consistent because an RTOS alone cannot guarantee reliability, which is indeed a system issue depending on a mix of factors.

The other criteria are very close in ranking, so it is small wonder that RTOS vendors emphasize the real-time credentials of their offerings. The issue of royalty-free licensing should not be confused with open source arrangements Royalty-free licensing simply means that you pay a price that is not tied to the number of actual products you ship which are based on a given design. Developers want predictable and controllable costs. Access to source code is likewise not the same as an open source arrangement, though it is much closer than royalty-free. Often, developers simply want to understand the RTOS at its source level. Since source represents the crown jewels of most RTOS vendors, this is either not available or offered at a very high price.

Here is the data behind the above graph:

Learn more about EDC's Embedded Systems Development Survey here.

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