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As of fiscal 2001, the TRON Association has undergone a major internal reorganization. The ITRON Committee, BTRON Committee and other specification-oriented committees have been abolished. The Association is instead organized around three groups, the TRON Advanced Technology Research Group, the Next Generation Real-Time Infrastructure Group, and the Multi-Character OS Application Group. There are now five working groups under the Next Generation Real-Time Infrastructure Group.
Of these working groups, the Version Up Working Group takes on the responsibility of maintaining and updating the µITRON4.0 Specification and other ITRON specifications. The work of publicizing and promoting the specifications is under the overall direction of a Marketing Group separate from the above three groups.
For the current fiscal year the Version Up Working Group will focus its studies on introducing a memory protection scheme in the µITRON specifications as explained in Newsletter No. 49. It will also continue to update the existing ITRON specifications as necessary. Your support and cooperation in the on-going development of the ITRON specifications will be appreciated.
In line with the reorganization, the publicity efforts of the TRON Association have been consolidated under a new structure. One result is that the ITRON Newsletter will cease publishing after the current issue. We would like to thank you all sincerely for your support over the years.
Back issues of this newsletter will continue to be made available on the ITRON Web site.
As part of its specification maintenance work, the ITRON Committee has issued an updated version of the µITRON4.0 Specification, the most recent in the line of µITRON real-time kernel specifications first released in June 1999. The update corrects errors and fixes some problems that have been discovered since the last release.
As with earlier releases, the updated µITRON4.0 Specification (Ver. 4.01.00) can be downloaded in its entirety from the ITRON Web site in PDF format. It is also on sale in printed, bound format by the TRON Association.
Nearly all the changes involve revisions or corrections in minor details and clarifications of ambiguous expressions; there are no major revisions in this version. A summary of changes from the previous edition (Ver. 4.00.00) can be downloaded from the ITRON Project Web site. Since there are no major changes, the specification will continue to be called the µITRON4.0 Specification as before.
The following products were registered with the ITRON-specification product registration system in the period since our last Newsletter up to June 1, 2001. See the ITRON Web site for the complete, up-to-date list of registered products.
| Specification | Product | Processors | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| µITRON3.0 | RX850 | V850 Family | NEC Corp. |
| RX850Pro | V850 Family | ||
| RX4000 | VR (VR4100, VR4300, VR5432) | ||
| µITRON4.0 | mKernel | Z80 | Masayuki Kawakami |
Listed below are the publications prepared and issued by the ITRON Committee as of June 1, 2001. Please contact the sources indicated to obtain copies.
The revised edition of the µITRON3.0 Standard Handbook contains the latest version of the µITRON3.0 specification (Ver. 3.02.02). The changes made between the old version of the µITRON3.0 Standard Handbook (Ver. 3.00.00) and Ver. 3.02.00 are detailed in the ITRON Standard Guidebook 2. The changes from Ver. 3.0.2.00 to Ver. 3.02.02 involve only organizational changes and additional explanations not affecting the technical contents.
The ITRON-µITRON Standard Handbook is a one-volume compilation of the µITRON Ver. 2.0 and ITRON2 specifications. Printed editions are no longer available, but the entire contents are available from the publisher's Web site.
The ITRON Standard Guidebook 2 is written with µITRON3.0 in mind. The earlier ITRON Standard Guidebook '92 - '93 remains as a valuable reference for use with the µITRON Ver. 2.0 and ITRON2 specifications, even though the dates in its title are now past.
| Name | Type | Price | Publisher | Issued | ISBN No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITRON-µITRON Standard Handbook | Specification (Jpn.) | (out of print) | Personal Media Corp. | 1990 | ISBN4-89362-079-7 |
| µITRON3.0 Standard Handbook Revised Edition | Specification (Jpn.) | 4,000 yen | Personal Media Corp. | 1997 | ISBN4-89362-154-8 |
| µITRON4.0 Specification (Ver. 4.01.00) | Specification (Jpn.) | 5,000 yen (incl. tax) | TRON Association | 2001 | -- |
| µITRON4.0 Validation Specification (draft) | Specification (Jpn.) | -- | TRON Association | 2001 | -- |
| ITRON Debugging Interface Specification (Ver. 1.00.00) | Specification (Jpn.) | 3,000 yen (incl. tax) | TRON Association | 2001 | -- |
| ITRON TCP/IP API Specification (Ver. 1.00.01) | Specification (Jpn.) | -- | TRON Association | 1998 | -- |
| JTRON2.1 Specification (Ver. 2.01.00) | Specification (Jpn.) | -- | TRON Association | 2000 | -- |
| ITRON Standard Guidebook '92-'93 | Reference work (Jpn.) | 3,500 yen | Personal Media Corp. | 1992 | ISBN4-89362-197-6 |
| ITRON Standard Guidebook 2 | Reference work (Jpn.) | 3,500 yen | Personal Media Corp. | 1994 | ISBN4-89362-133-5 |
| µITRON Specification Ver 2.01.00.00 | Specification (Eng.) | 12,000 yen | TRON Association | 1989 | -- |
| ITRON2 Specification Ver 2.02.00.10 | Specification (Eng.) | 15,000 yen | TRON Association | 1990 | -- |
| µITRON3.0 Specification Ver 3.02.00 | Specification (Eng.) | -- | TRON Association | 1994 | -- |
| µITRON3.0: An Open and Portable Real-Time Operating System for Embedded Systems | Specification (Eng.) | $40.00 | IEEE CS Press | 1997 | ISBN0-8186-7795-3 |
| JTRON2.0 Specification (Ver. 2.00.00) | Specification (Eng.) | -- | TRON Association | 1999 | -- |
Products recently registered with the ITRON-specification product registration system are introduced here.
NEC's RX850 real-time OS was designed for use with the V850 Family of 32-bit microcontrollers. The RX850 can be optimized to a variety of application systems by selecting the objects to be incorporated in the embedded system. This selection is made at the time of compiling by designating the registers to be used in the C compiler.
The maximum kernel size is approximately 7 KBytes, making the OS ideal for use in small embedded systems. The code size is optimized by implementing only the system calls actually used when linking the RX850 with the user application.
The RX850 goes into power-saving mode when there are no tasks running. The user can select HALT, IDLE or STOP as the power-saving mode.
A configurator is provided with the RX850 as a tool for generating the table to be referenced by the OS, facilitating system configuration by the user. The configurator automatically calculates the amount of memory to be used, simplifying memory estimation.
A task debugger and system performance analyzer are provided for the RX850. The task debugger can be used to show the status of resources managed by the RX850 OS. The system performance analyzer shows the task execution transitions in graphical form.
Further details about this product are available as follows.
E-mail: s-info@saed.tmg.nec.co.jp
URL: http://www.ic.nec.co.jp/micro/
Like the RX850, the RX850Pro was developed for use with the NEC V850 processor family. The main difference from the RX850 is that the RX850Pro supports dynamic task creation. In addition, kernel management table deployment is allowed in any memory space, without the limitation of the RX850 in this regard.
With a maximum kernel size of approximately 13 KBytes, the RX850Pro is well suited for use in small embedded systems. The code size is optimized by implementing only the system calls actually used when linking the RX850Pro with the user application.
The RX850Pro goes into power-saving mode when there are no tasks running. The user can select HALT, IDLE or STOP as the power-saving mode.
A configurator is provided with the RX850Pro as a tool for generating the table to be referenced by the OS, facilitating system configuration by the user. The configurator automatically calculates the amount of memory to be used, simplifying memory estimation.
A task debugger and system performance analyzer are provided for the RX850Pro. The task debugger can be used to show the status of resources managed by the RX850Pro OS. The system performance analyzer shows the task execution transitions in graphical form.
Further details about this product are available as follows.
E-mail: s-info@saed.tmg.nec.co.jp
URL: http://www.ic.nec.co.jp/micro/
The RX4000 is a real-time OS developed for the VR Series 64-bit microprocessor. The RX4000 is the most function-rich model in the RX Series. It supports signal handler management by means of an original system call.
The RX4000 was designed for embedded system use, with a maximum kernel size of approximately 23 Kbytes. An optimal code size is achieved by implementing only the system calls actually used when linking the RX4000 with the user application.
A user-designated power-saving mode goes into effect when there are no tasks running.
A configurator is provided with the RX4000 as a tool for generating the table to be referenced by the OS, facilitating system configuration by the user. The configurator automatically calculates the amount of memory to be used, simplifying memory estimation.
A task debugger and system performance analyzer are provided for the RX4000. The task debugger can be used to show the status of resources managed by the RX4000 OS. The system performance analyzer shows the task execution transitions in graphical form.
Further details about this product are available as follows.
E-mail: s-info@saed.tmg.nec.co.jp
URL: http://www.ic.nec.co.jp/micro/
mKernel is a real-time multi-tasking kernel for embedded control, implementing the µITRON4.0 Specification.
Z80 8-bit microprocessor (kernel model name: mK010301)
The OS implements the automotive control profile of the µITRON4.0 Specification with the exception of the static API function.
The kernel supports an interface for issuing service calls in assembly language. Tasks, cyclic handlers and CPU exception handlers can be written in C language as well as assembly language.
The kernel source file, written in assembly language, is provided with the OS. Users may modify the source file to meet various development tool specifications.
Contact the developer directly at the following address:
Masayuki Kawakami
126-8-1 Yunoo, Imajo-cho, Nanjo-gun, Fukui 919-0101 Japan
E-mail: kawa@ma.interbroad.or.jp
Two papers on the ITRON specifications have been published in the Transactions of the Information Processing Society of Japan, Vol. 42, No. 6 (June 2001). Both papers were submitted by research groups in the Toyohashi University of Technology. The first, by Shinya Honda and Hiroaki Takada, is titled, "Exception Handling Functions of the µITRON4.0 Specification and Their Evaluation." It discusses the RISC-like approach to standardization adopted for the µITRON4.0 Specification, notes how this is reflected in the exception handling and overrun handler functions, and shows how the specification objectives have been achieved, as evidenced in actual kernel implementation. The second paper, by Takayuki Wakabayashi and Hiroaki Takada, is called "Standardization Approach of ITRON Debugging Interface Specification and Evaluations of Its Adaptability." As the title indicates, this paper deals with the ITRON debugging interface specification, evaluating the current specification in terms of its adaptability to a variety of debugging tools.
This newsletter is a special
edition for WWW of the one appeared in TRONWARE vol.70.
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