Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)?

Subject	Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)?
Newsgroups	comp.arch.embedded
References	(13 earlier) <87y3l8ltjw.fsf@nightsong.com> <r8865d1paqvgq5gjflkrdbs0tcje67d6md@4ax.com> <p2vdh7$cii$1@dont-email.me> <87tvvwkzdz.fsf@nightsong.com> <p30nmv$e1t$1@dont-email.me>
From	Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk>
Message-ID	<bbS4C.350966$9X.218880@fx09.am4> (permalink)
Organization	virginmedia.com
Date	2018-01-08 22:23 +0000

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On 08/01/18 21:26, David Brown wrote:
> On 08/01/18 18:56, Paul Rubin wrote:
>> David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> writes:
>>> It is /not/ ridiculous for people who think of state machines more
>>> generally and are happy to handle a whole set of states (like all values
>>> for your current checksum) in common code.
>>
>> The term "state machine" stops having any meaning, once generalized to
>> include basically every possible program that doesn't allocate potentially
>> unbounded amounts of dynamic memory during operation. I do believe we were
>> discussing them in terms of state tables.
>>
>
> /I/ believe the arguments going on in this thread are based on people having
> different but very fixed ideas about what a "finite state machine" actually
> /is/.  Different people use the term in different ways - there is no single
> correct definition.  Some people think of them in terms of pure theory - you
> have a finite number of states, you have a finite number of events, and an
> event causes the machine to move from one state to another (usually in a
> purely deterministic way).  Other people think of them in terms of
> implementation - whatever their particular favourite method might be (switch
> statements, tables with function pointers, etc.).  With such a viewpoint, it
> is common to have some ill-defined limit of "practical size".
>
> Once you realise that these (and many other) ways to define a "state
> machine" are valid, people in this thread can stop arguing and insulting each
> other and realise that you actually agree on many things.  (Of course, that
> might spoil the fun!)
>
> For my own viewpoint, I usually consider code to represent a "state machine"
> if there is one or more "state" variables of an enumerated type.  These
> state variables will not hold the full state of the system - there are
> usually other variables too.  So a state machine for a protocol handler might
> have states for "idle", "getting header", "getting data", "getting checksum"
> and additional state information such as a counter of the bytes so far and a
> running checksum. Trying to store all the state in a table would be
> impractical - but it is still a finite state machine by the flexible
> definitions I use.

Yes.

That is the way in which I, you, and probably everybody except
Mr Rubin, is using the term the term FSM in an embedded context.

I have come across young maintenance programmers working on
comms protocols and business rules that did not recognise the
comms protocols and programs /were/ FSMs. To them an FSM was
something they vaguely remembered from university as being
something to do with parsing in compilers.

I would not have thought someone using a usenet group on
embedded systems could be classified as "young maintenance
programmer".

Now a computer is, in a very deep sense, nothing more than a
large FSM. However, attempting to design and implement non-trivial
systems _solely_ at that level is a concept that had never
occurred to me, except possibly when we have all had too much
to drink in the pub :)

Thread

Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Mike Perkins <spam@spam.com> - 2017-12-10 14:56 +0000
  Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2017-12-16 11:58 -0600
    Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Ed Prochak <edprochak@gmail.com> - 2017-12-19 08:19 -0800
      Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-12-19 11:51 -0500
        Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Ed Prochak <edprochak@gmail.com> - 2018-01-02 14:58 -0800
        Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-01-03 06:07 -0600
          Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-03 12:59 -0500
            Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-01-03 17:59 -0600
              Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-04 03:33 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-04 14:31 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Rob Gaddi <rgaddi@highlandtechnology.invalid> - 2018-01-04 11:56 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-01-04 21:46 -0600
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-04 16:46 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-01-04 21:47 -0600
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-06 18:55 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 00:54 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-07 13:41 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 23:32 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-10 10:33 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-10 16:29 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? upsidedown@downunder.com - 2018-01-08 08:11 +0200
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-07 23:05 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? upsidedown@downunder.com - 2018-01-08 10:06 +0200
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-01-08 10:27 +0100
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-08 09:56 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-08 18:39 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-08 12:20 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-08 22:11 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-01-08 22:26 +0100
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-08 22:23 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-08 14:44 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-08 23:06 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-08 10:02 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-01-08 17:34 -0600
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-06 22:29 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-07 00:46 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-01-04 21:44 -0600
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-05 09:12 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2018-01-05 21:40 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-01-05 21:29 -0600
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-06 09:10 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-01-06 16:35 -0600
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 01:04 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-06 09:17 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-01-06 16:37 -0600
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 01:11 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-06 17:31 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 01:52 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-07 00:39 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 09:55 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-07 10:43 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 19:35 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-06 19:06 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-06 16:58 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-06 22:37 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-07 00:58 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-07 09:32 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2018-01-07 10:53 -0800
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-10 11:40 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 01:14 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-06 18:57 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 01:17 +0000
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? rickman <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> - 2018-01-06 22:40 -0500
                Re: When exactly do you choose to use a RTOS (instead of a non-OS approach)? Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-01-07 09:59 +0000

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