PRESS RELEASE
Blunk Announces TargetOS™ Lite Kernel
San Jose, California, September 17, 2015 - Blunk Microsystems introduces the TargetOS Lite™ kernel, an API compatible subset of its full TargetOS™ kernel. The lite kernel supports the following objects:
- Tasks
- FIFO-mode binary and counting semaphores
- SW timers
- Regions for malloc()-like memory allocations
- Interrupt service routines
This is the only kernel support used by Blunk’s middleware components, so the lite kernel fully supports all of Blunk’s file system and networking products. The lite kernel is licensed at no cost and is included in all file system and networking product releases.
TargetOS Lite was designed for a minimal code/RAM footprint. Using GCC 4.9.3 and the Cortex-A9, its code and RAM occupies 18KB and 5KB, respectively (using a 1KB main() stack). Each SW timer adds 32B of RAM. Each semaphore adds 8B of RAM if the optional name is excluded.
No compromises have been made in performance. As shown by the semaphore benchmarks below for a 111 MHz Cortex-A9, both kernels are equally fast:
| Semaphore Test | Lite Kernel | Full Kernel |
|---|---|---|
| semPend() with waiting token | 0.1 usec | 0.1 usec |
| semPost() with no task waiting | 0.1 usec | 0.1 usec |
| semPost() with task made ready, no switch | 0.3 usec | 0.3 usec |
| semPost() with context switch | 0.4 usec | 0.4 usec |
| semPend() with context switch | 0.5 usec | 0.5 usec |
The full-featured royalty-free TargetOS kernel can be used
when any of the following features are required:
- Priority-mode semaphores (not just FIFO)
- Queues: ability to post 32-bit queued messages
- Mutexes: priority-mode binary semaphores with priority inheritance
- Nexuses: ability to post events to a group of tasks by a single call
- Task suspend/resume support
The post-every and post-after timer routines of the full kernel are not present in the lite kernel, but can be implemented by tmrCallAfter(), which is supported by both kernels.
About Blunk Microsystems
Blunk Microsystems has provided high-performance embedded software for 32-bit processors since 1995. Products include kernels, advanced file systems, a graphics library, IPv4 and IPv6 certified TCP/IP stacks, USB host stack, web server, high-level source debugger, and an integrated GNU-based development environment.
Contact
Blunk Microsystems, LLC
3626 Fair Oaks Blvd. Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95864
T: +1 (408) 323-1758
E: info@blunkmicro.com
W: www.blunkmicro.com
TargetOS and TargetOS Lite are trademarks of Blunk Microsystems, LLC.