QNX (pronounced either Q-N-X or Q-nix) is a commercial POSIX-compliant Unix-like real-time operating system, aimed primarily at the embedded systems market. The QNX kernel's source, as of the 12th of September 2007, has been released for non-commercial use. QNX operating system screenshot. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... It has been suggested that software publisher be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Software developer (disambiguation). ... The text below is generated by a template, which has been proposed for deletion. ... Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... A kernel connects the application software to the hardware of a computer. ... Graphical overview of a microkernel A microkernel is a minimal computer operating system kernel providing only basic operating system services (system calls), while other services (commonly provided by kernels) are provided by user-space programs called servers. ... A software license is a legal agreement which may take the form of a proprietary or gratuitous license as well as a memorandum of contract between a producer and a user of computer software. ... POSIX or Portable Operating System Interface[1] is the collective name of a family of related standards specified by the IEEE to define the application programming interface (API) for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system. ... Diagram of the relationships between several Unix-like systems A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. ... A real-time operating system (RTOS) is a multitasking operating system intended for real-time applications. ... A router, an example of an embedded system. ...

Description

As a microkernel-based OS, QNX is based on the idea of running most of the OS in the form of a number of small tasks, known as servers. This differs from the more traditional monolithic kernel, in which the operating system is a single very large program composed of a huge number of "parts" with special abilities. In the case of QNX, the use of a microkernel allows users (developers) to turn off any functionality they do not require without having to change the OS itself; instead, those servers are simply not run. Graphical overview of a microkernel A microkernel is a minimal computer operating system kernel providing only basic operating system services (system calls), while other services (commonly provided by kernels) are provided by user-space programs called servers. ... It has been suggested that Monolithic system be merged into this article or section. ...

The system is quite small, fitting in a minimal fashion on a single floppy, and is considered to be both very fast and fairly "complete."

QNX Neutrino (2001) has been ported to a number of platforms and now runs on practically any modern CPU that is used in the embedded market. This includes the x86 family, MIPS, PowerPC, SH-4 and the closely related family of ARM, StrongARM and xScale CPUs. x86 or 80x86 is the generic name of a microprocessor architecture first developed and manufactured by Intel. ... A MIPS R4400 microprocessor made by Toshiba. ... PowerPC is a RISC microprocessor architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM. Originally intended for personal computers, PowerPC CPUs have since become popular embedded and high-performance processors as well. ... The SuperHichem (or SH) is brandname of a certain microcontroller and microprocessor architecture. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... DEC StrongARM SA-110 Microprocessor The StrongARM microprocessor is a faster version of the Advanced RISC Machines ARM design. ... The XScale, a microprocessor core, is Marvells (formerly Intels) implementation of the 5th generation of the ARM architecture, and consists of several distinct families: IXP, IXC, IOP, PXA and CE (see more below). ...

As of September 12, 2007, QNX offers a free license for non-commercial users.

History

Gordon Bell and Dan Dodge, students at the University of Waterloo in 1980, both took a standard computer science course in operating system design, in which the students constructed a basic real-time kernel. Both were convinced there was a commercial need for such a system, and moved to Kanata, Ontario, (a high-tech area in the western part of Ottawa) to start Quantum Software Systems that year. In 1982 the first version, QNX, was released for the Intel 8088 CPU. Gordon Bell is the co-creator of the QNX Realtime Operating System (with Dan Dodge). ... Dan Dodge is the co-creator of the QNX Realtime Operating system (with Gordon Bell). ... The University of Waterloo (also referred to as UW, UWaterloo, or Waterloo) is a medium-sized research-intensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. ... Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... Looking north along Kanatas March Road Kanata is a suburban area in the western part of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. ... This article is about the capital city of Canada. ... The Intel 8088 is an Intel microprocessor based on the 8086, with 16-bit registers and an 8-bit external data bus. ... “CPU” redirects here. ...

One of QNX's first widespread uses was in the non-embedded world, when it was selected as the operating system for the Ontario education system's own computer design, the Unisys ICON. Over the years QNX was used mostly for "larger" projects, as its 44k kernel was too large to fit inside the single-chip computers of the era. The system garnered an enviable reputation for reliability and found itself in use running machinery in a number of industrial applications. Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area [1] Ranked... The ICON was a computer built specifically for use in schools, to fill a standard created by the Ontario education ministry. ...

In the late-1980s, Quantum realized that the market was rapidly moving towards the POSIX model and decided to rewrite the kernel to be much more compatible at a lower level. The result was QNX 4. During this time Patrick Hayden, while working as an intern, along with Robin Burgener (a full time QNX employee at the time), developed a new concept for a windowing system . This patented concept was developed into the embeddable GUI named Photon microGUI. QNX also provided a version of the X Window System. Due to the POSIX interface, porting Unix and BSD packages to QNX became much easier. The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... POSIX or Portable Operating System Interface[1] is the collective name of a family of related standards specified by the IEEE to define the application programming interface (API) for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system. ... GUI can refer to the following: GUI is short for graphical user interface, a term used to describe a type of interface in computing. ... “X11” redirects here. ... POSIX or Portable Operating System Interface[1] is the collective name of a family of related standards specified by the IEEE to define the application programming interface (API) for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system. ... Filiation of Unix and Unix-like systems Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX®) is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Douglas McIlroy. ... BSD redirects here; for other uses see BSD (disambiguation). ...

Toward the end of the 1990s QNX began work on a completely new version of QNX, designed from the ground up to be SMP capable, as well as support all current POSIX APIs, and any new POSIX APIs that could be anticipated; but still retaining the microkernel architecture. This resulted in QNX Neutrino, which was released in 2001. Along with the Neutrino kernel, QNX made a serious commitment to tooling, and became a founding member of the Eclipse consortium. QNX soon released a suite of Eclipse plug-ins packaged with the Eclipse workbench under the name Momentics. Symmetric Multiprocessing, or SMP, is a multiprocessor computer architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory. ... POSIX or Portable Operating System Interface[1] is the collective name of a family of related standards specified by the IEEE to define the application programming interface (API) for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system. ... API and Api redirect here. ... POSIX or Portable Operating System Interface[1] is the collective name of a family of related standards specified by the IEEE to define the application programming interface (API) for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system. ... API and Api redirect here. ... Eclipse is an open-source software framework written primarily in Java. ...

In 2004 the company announced it had been sold to Harman International Industries. Prior to the acquisition by Harman International, QNX was already widely used in the Automotive industry for telematics systems. Since the purchase by Harman QNX has been designed into over 180 different automobile models. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Harman International Industries is an international audio equipment company. ... The term telematics is used in a number of ways: The integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, also known as ICT (Information and Communications Technology). ... “Car” and “Cars” redirect here. ...

On 12th of September 2007 QNX made a press release annouincing the immediate availability of the source code. Reference: http://www.qnx.com/news/pr_2471_1.html

Cisco's IOS-XR (ultra high availability IOS), is based on QNX, as is IOS Software Modularity. A Cisco ASM/2-32EM router deployed at CERN in 1987. ... IOS XR is Ciscos latest operating system, used on their high-end carrier-grade routers. ... IOS Software Modularity is an extension to the Cisco IOS operating system that allows ISSU of router or switch functionality. ...

Technology

The QNX kernel contains only CPU scheduling, interprocess communication, interrupt redirection and timers. Everything else runs as a user process, including a special process known as proc which performs process creation, and memory management by operating in conjunction with the microkernel. This is made possible by two key mechanisms - subroutine-call type interprocess communication, and a boot loader which can load an image containing not only the kernel but any desired collection of user programs and shared libraries. Scheduling is a key concept in computer multitasking and multiprocessing operating system design, and in real-time operating system design. ... Inter-process communication (IPC) is the exchange of data between one process and another, either within the same computer or over a network. ... In computing, an interrupt is an asynchronous signal from hardware or software indicating the need for attention. ... Memory management is the act of managing computer memory. ... Graphical overview of a microkernel A microkernel is a minimal computer operating system kernel providing only basic operating system services (system calls), while other services (commonly provided by kernels) are provided by user-space programs called servers. ... In computing, booting is a bootstrapping process that starts operating systems when the user turns on a computer system. ...

QNX interprocess communication consists of sending a message from one process to another and waiting for a reply. This is a single operation, called MsgSend. The message is copied, by the kernel, from the address space of the sending process to that of the receiving process. If the receiving process is waiting for the message, control of the CPU is transferred at the same time, without a pass through the CPU scheduler. Thus, sending a message to another process and waiting for a reply does not result in "losing one's turn" for the CPU. This tight integration between message passing and CPU scheduling is one of the key mechanisms that makes QNX message passing broadly usable. Most UNIX and Linux interprocess communication mechanisms lack this tight integration, although an implementation of QNX-type messaging for Linux does exist. Mishandling of this subtle issue is a primary reason for the disappointing performance of some other microkernel systems. Filiation of Unix and Unix-like systems Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX®) is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Douglas McIlroy. ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ...

Due to the microkernel architecture QNX is also a distributed operating system. Dan Dodge and Peter van der Veen hold a patent based on the QNX operating system's distributed processing features (known commercially as Transparent Distributed Processing). Graphical overview of a microkernel A microkernel is a minimal computer operating system kernel providing only basic operating system services (system calls), while other services (commonly provided by kernels) are provided by user-space programs called servers. ... This article or section should include material from Distributed programming This article or section should include material from Distributed system Distributed computing is the process of aggregating the power of several computing entities to collaboratively run a single computational task in a transparent and coherent way, so that they appear... Dan Dodge is the co-creator of the QNX Realtime Operating system (with Gordon Bell). ... Transparent Distributed Processing, or TDP, is the name that the QNX operating system uses to refer to its network distributed architecture. ...

All I/O operations, file system operations, and network operations were meant to work through this mechanism, and the data transferred was copied during message passing. Later versions of QNX reduce the number of separate processes and integrate the network stack and other function blocks into single applications for performance reasons. There are no device drivers in the kernel.

Message handling is prioritized by thread priority. Since I/O requests are performed using message passing, high priority threads receive I/O service before low priority threads, an essential feature in a hard real-time system. For the form of code consisting entirely of subroutine calls, see Threaded code. ... A system is said to be hard real-time if the correctness of an operation depends not only upon the logical correctness of the operation but also upon the time at which it is performed. ...

The boot loader, although seldom discussed, is the other key component of the minimal microkernel system. Because user programs can be built into the boot image, the set of device drivers and support libraries needed for startup need not be, and are not, in the kernel. Even such functions as program loading are not in the kernel, but instead are in shared user-space libraries loaded as part of the boot image. It is possible to put an entire boot image into ROM, which is used for diskless embedded systems. Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ...

Neutrino supports Symmetric Multiprocessing and Bound Multiprocessing(BMP), which is QNX's term for being able to lock selected threads to selected cpus. BMP is used to improve cache heating and to ease the migration of non-SMP safe applications to multi-processor computers. Symmetric Multiprocessing, or SMP, is a multiprocessor computer architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory. ...

Neutrino supports strict priority-preemptive scheduling and Adaptive Partition Scheduling(APS). APS guarantees minimum cpu percentages to selected groups of threads, even though others may have higher priority. The adaptive partition scheduler is still strictly priority-preemtive (i.e. realtime) when the system is underloaded. It can also be configured to run a selected set of critical threads strictly realtime, even when the system is overloaded. Adaptive Partition Schedulers are a relatively new type of partition scheduler, pioneered with the most recent version of the QNX operating system. ...

Foundry27

Foundry27, the new QNX community established by the company, will serve as a hub to QNX Neutrino development where developers can register, choose the license, and get the source code and the related toolkit of the RTOS.^[1]

The QNX Floppy Demo

Image File history File links Qnx_floppy. ... Image File history File links Qnx_floppy. ...

Competitors

Some important competitors in the embedded market are LynxOS, VxWorks, Linux, eCos, THEOS, ThreadX, Windows CE, RTEMS, and OS-9. The LynxOS RTOS is a Unix-like real-time operating system from LynuxWorks (formerly Lynx Real-Time Systems). Sometimes known as the Lynx Operating System, LynxOS features POSIX compliance and, more recently, Linux compatibility. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ... The correct title of this article is . ... Theos may refer to: Theos Is a medical electronics company with revolutionary technology focusing on remote patient monitoring . ... THreadx is an a RTOS made by Mr. ... Windows CE (sometimes abbreviated WinCE) is a variation of Microsofts Windows operating system for minimalistic computers and embedded systems. ... RTEMS (Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems) is a free open source real-time operating system designed for embedded systems. ... For Mac OS 9, see Mac OS 9. ...

References

1. ^ QNX Press Releases

Bibliography

• Dan Hildebrand (1992). "An Architectural Overview of QNX". Proceedings of the Workshop on Micro-kernels and Other Kernel Architectures. ISBN 1-880446-42-1. 

External links

• QNX Software
• Foundry27
• QNX User Community
• IBV - Echtzeit- und Embedded GmbH & Co. KG: QNX Partner for Engineering Services and Products
• Open source applications
• GUIdebook > GUIs > QNX
• QNX used for Canadian Nuclear Power Plants
• QOR: Russian QNX Portal
• QNX Demodisk mirror
• Knowledge base of CBD BC
• Development Tips & Tricks