- A20 gate
- On x86-based systems, a hardware component that forces
the A20 address line on the bus to zero, regardless of the
actual setting of the A20 address line on the processor.
This component is in place to support legacy systems, but
the QNX Neutrino RTOS doesn't require any such hardware. Note that some
processors, such as the 386EX, have the A20 gate hardware
built right into the processor itself—our IPL
will disable the A20 gate as soon as possible after startup.
- adaptive
- Scheduling policy whereby a thread's priority is decayed by 1.
See also FIFO, round robin, and sporadic.
- adaptive partitioning
- A method of dividing, in a flexible manner, CPU time, memory,
file resources, or kernel
resources with some policy of minimum guaranteed usage.
- application ID
- A number that identifies all processes that are part of an application.
Like process group IDs, the application ID value is the same as the
process ID of the first process in the application.
A new application is created by spawning with the
POSIX_SPAWN_NEWAPP or SPAWN_NEWAPP flag.
A process created without one of those inherits the application ID of its
parent.
A process needs the PROCMGR_AID_CHILD_NEWAPP ability in
order to set those flags.
The SignalKill() kernel call accepts a SIG_APPID
flag ORed into the signal number parameter.
This tells it to send the signal to all the processes with an
application ID that matches the pid argument.
The DCMD_PROC_INFO devctl() returns the
application ID in a structure field.
- asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP)
- A multiprocessing system where a separate OS, or a separate instantiation
of the same OS, runs on each CPU.
- atomic
- Of or relating to atoms. :-)
In operating systems, this refers to the requirement that an
operation, or sequence of operations, be considered
indivisible. For example, a thread may need to move
a file position to a given location and read data. These
operations must be performed in an atomic manner; otherwise,
another thread could preempt the original thread and move
the file position to a different location, thus causing
the original thread to read data from the second thread's
position.
- attributes structure
- Structure containing information used on a
per-resource basis (as opposed to the OCB, which
is used on a per-open basis).
This structure is also known as a handle. The
structure definition is fixed
(iofunc_attr_t), but may be extended. See
also mount structure.
- bank-switched
- A term indicating that a certain memory component
(usually the device holding an image) isn't
entirely addressable by the processor. In this case, a
hardware component manifests a small portion (or
"window") of the device onto the processor's
address bus. Special commands have to be issued to the
hardware to move the window to different locations in the
device. See also linearly mapped.
- base layer calls
- Convenient set of library calls for writing resource
managers. These calls all start with resmgr_*().
Note that while some base layer calls are unavoidable (e.g.,
resmgr_attach()), we recommend that you
use the POSIX layer calls where possible.
- BIOS/ROM Monitor extension signature
- A certain sequence of bytes indicating to the BIOS or
ROM Monitor that the device is to be considered an
"extension" to the BIOS or ROM Monitor—control is to be transferred to the device by the BIOS
or ROM Monitor, with the expectation that the device will
perform additional initializations.
On the x86 architecture, the two bytes 0x55 and
0xAA must be present (in that order) as the first
two bytes in the device, with control being transferred to offset
0x0003.
- block-integral
- The requirement that data be transferred such that individual
structure components are transferred in their entirety—no partial structure component transfers are allowed.
In a resource manager, directory data must be returned
to a client as block-integral data. This means
that only complete struct dirent structures
can be returned—it's inappropriate to return partial
structures, assuming that the next _IO_READ request
will "pick up" where the previous one left off.
- bootable
- An image can be either bootable or
nonbootable. A bootable image is one that
contains the startup code that the IPL can transfer control to.
- bootfile
- The part of an OS image that runs the startup code and
the microkernel.
- bound multiprocessing (BMP)
- A multiprocessing system where a single instantiation of an OS manages
all CPUs simultaneously, but you can lock individual applications or
threads to a specific CPU.
- budget
- In sporadic scheduling, the amount of time a
thread is permitted to execute at its normal priority before
being dropped to its low priority.
- buildfile
- A text file containing instructions for mkifs
specifying the contents and other details of an
image, or for mkefs specifying the
contents and other details of an embedded filesystem image.
- canonical mode
- Also called edited mode or "cooked" mode.
In this mode, the character device library performs
line-editing operations on each received character.
Only when a line is "completely entered"—typically when a carriage return (CR) is received—will
the line of data be made available to application processes.
Contrast raw mode.
- channel
- A kernel object used with message passing.
In QNX Neutrino, message passing is directed towards
a connection (made to a channel); threads
can receive messages from channels.
A thread that wishes to receive messages creates a channel (using ChannelCreate()), and
then receives messages from that channel (using MsgReceive()).
Another thread that wishes to send a message to the first thread must make
a connection to that channel by "attaching" to
the channel (using ConnectAttach()) and then sending data
(using MsgSend()).
- chid
- An abbreviation for channel ID.
- CIFS
- Common Internet File System (also known as SMB)—a protocol that allows
a client workstation to perform transparent file access over
a network to a Windows 95/98/NT server. Client file
access calls are converted to CIFS protocol requests and are
sent to the server over the network. The server receives the
request, performs the actual filesystem operation, and sends
a response back to the client.
- CIS
- Card Information Structure—a data block that
maintains information about flash configuration. The CIS
description includes the types of memory devices in the
regions, the physical geometry of these devices, and the
partitions located on the flash.
- coid
- An abbreviation for connection ID.
- combine message
- A resource manager message that consists of two or more
messages.
The messages are constructed as combine messages by the client's
C library (e.g., stat(), readblock()), and
then handled as individual messages by the resource manager.
The purpose of combine messages is to conserve network bandwidth and/or
to provide support for atomic operations.
See also connect message and I/O message.
- connect message
- In a resource manager, a message issued by the client to
perform an operation based on a pathname (e.g., an
io_open message). Depending on the type of
connect message sent, a context block (see OCB)
may be associated with the request and will be passed to
subsequent I/O messages. See also combine
message and I/O message.
- connection
- A kernel object used with message passing.
Connections are created by client threads to "connect" to
the channels made available by servers. Once connections are
established, clients can MsgSendv() messages over
them. If a number of threads in a process all attach to the
same channel, then the one connection is shared among all
the threads. Channels and connections are identified within a
process by a small integer.
The key thing to note is that connections and file descriptors (FD)
are one and the same object. See also channel and FD.
- context
- Information retained between invocations of functionality.
When using a resource manager, the client sets up an association
or context within the resource manager by issuing an
open() call and getting back a file descriptor.
The resource manager is responsible for storing the information
required by the context (see OCB).
When the client issues further file-descriptor based messages,
the resource manager uses the OCB to determine the context for
interpretation of the client's messages.
- cooked mode
- See canonical mode.
- core dump
- A file describing the state of a process that terminated abnormally.
- critical section
- A code passage that must be executed
"serially" (i.e., by only one thread at a time).
The simplest from of critical section enforcement is via a
mutex.
- deadlock
- A condition in which one or more threads are unable to
continue due to resource contention.
A common form of deadlock can occur when
one thread sends a message to another, while the other
thread sends a message to the first. Both threads are now
waiting for each other to reply to the message. Deadlock can
be avoided by good design practices or massive kludges—we recommend the good design approach.
- device driver
- A process that allows the OS and application programs to
use the underlying hardware in a generic way (e.g., a
disk drive, a network interface). Unlike OSs that require
device drivers to be tightly bound into the OS itself,
device drivers for the QNX Neutrino RTOS are standard processes that
can be started and stopped dynamically. As a result, adding
device drivers doesn't affect any other part of the OS—drivers can be developed and debugged like any other
application. Also, device drivers are in their own protected
address space, so a bug in a device driver won't cause the
entire OS to shut down.
- discrete (or traditional) multiprocessor system
- A system that has separate physical processors hooked up in
multiprocessing mode over a board-level bus.
- DNS
- Domain Name Service—an Internet protocol used to convert ASCII domain names
into IP addresses. In QNX Neutrino native networking, dns
is one of Qnet's built-in resolvers.
- dynamic bootfile
- An OS image built on the fly. Contrast static bootfile.
- dynamic linking
- The process whereby you link your modules in such a way that
the Process Manager will link them to the library modules
before your program runs. The word "dynamic" here means
that the association between your program and the library
modules that it uses is done at load time, not at
link time. Contrast static linking. See also runtime loading.
- edge-sensitive
- One of two ways in which a PIC (Programmable
Interrupt Controller) can be programmed to respond to
interrupts. In edge-sensitive mode, the interrupt is
"noticed" upon a transition to/from the
rising/falling edge of a pulse. Contrast level-sensitive.
- edited mode
- See canonical mode.
- EOI
- End Of Interrupt—a command that the OS sends to
the PIC after processing all Interrupt Service Routines
(ISR) for that particular interrupt source so that the PIC
can reset the processor's In Service Register. See also
PIC and ISR.
- EPROM
- Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory—a memory
technology that allows the device to be programmed (typically with
higher-than-operating voltages, e.g., 12 V), with the characteristic
that any bit (or bits) may be individually programmed from
a 1 state to a 0 state.
Changing a bit from a 0 state into a 1 state
can be accomplished only by erasing the entire device, setting
all of the bits to a 1 state.
Erasing is accomplished by shining an ultraviolet light through
the erase window of the device for a fixed period of time
(typically 10-20 minutes).
The device is further characterized by having a limited number of
erase cycles (typically 10e5 - 10e6).
Contrast flash and RAM.
- event
- A notification scheme used to inform a thread that a
particular condition has occurred. Events can be signals or
pulses in the general case; they can also be unblocking
events or interrupt events in the case of kernel timeouts
and interrupt service routines. An event is delivered by a
thread, a timer, the kernel, or an interrupt service routine
when appropriate to the requestor of the event.
- FD
- File Descriptor—a client must open a file
descriptor to a resource manager via the open()
function call. The file descriptor then serves as a handle
for the client to use in subsequent messages. Note that a
file descriptor is the exact same object as a connection ID
(coid, returned by ConnectAttach()).
- FIFO
- First In First Out—a scheduling policy
whereby a thread is able to consume CPU at its priority
level without bounds. See also adaptive,
round robin, and sporadic.
- flash memory
- A memory technology similar in characteristics to
EPROM memory, with the exception that erasing is
performed electrically instead of via ultraviolet light,
and, depending upon the organization of the flash memory
device, erasing may be accomplished in blocks (typically 64 KB
at a time) instead of the entire device. Contrast
EPROM and RAM.
- FQNN
- Fully Qualified Node Name—a unique name that identifies a QNX Neutrino node
on a network. The FQNN consists of the
nodename plus the node domain tacked together.
- garbage collection
- Also known as space reclamation, the process whereby a filesystem
manager recovers the space occupied by deleted files and
directories.
- HA
- High Availability—in telecommunications and
other industries, HA describes a system's ability to remain
up and running without interruption for extended periods of
time.
- handle
- A pointer that the resource manager base library binds
to the pathname registered via resmgr_attach().
This handle is typically used to associate some kind of
per-device information. Note that if you use the
iofunc_*() POSIX layer calls, you must
use a particular type of handle—in this
case called an attributes structure.
- hard thread affinity
- A user-specified binding of a thread to a set of processors, done
by means of a runmask.
Contrast soft thread affinity.
- image
- In the context of embedded QNX Neutrino systems, an "image"
can mean either a structure that contains files
(i.e., an OS image) or a structure that can be used in a
read-only, read/write, or read/write/reclaim
FFS-2-compatible filesystem (i.e., a flash filesystem image).
- inherit mask
- A bitmask that specifies which processors a thread's children can run on.
Contrast runmask.
- interrupt
- An event (usually caused by hardware) that interrupts whatever the
processor was doing and asks it do something else. The
hardware will generate an interrupt whenever it has reached
some state where software intervention is required.
- interrupt handler
- See ISR.
- interrupt latency
- The amount of elapsed time between the generation of a
hardware interrupt and the first instruction executed by the
relevant interrupt service routine.
Also designated as "Til".
Contrast scheduling latency.
- interrupt service routine
- See ISR.
- interrupt service thread
- A thread that is responsible for performing thread-level
servicing of an interrupt.
Since an ISR can
call only a very limited number of functions, and since the amount of time spent in an ISR
should be kept to a minimum, generally the
bulk of the interrupt servicing work should be done by a thread. The
thread attaches the interrupt (via
InterruptAttach() or
InterruptAttachEvent()) and then blocks (via
InterruptWait()), waiting for the ISR to tell it
to do something (by returning an event of type
SIGEV_INTR). To aid in minimizing
scheduling latency, the interrupt service thread
should raise its priority appropriately.
- I/O message
- A message that relies on an existing binding between the
client and the resource manager. For example, an
_IO_READ message depends on the client's having
previously established an association (or context)
with the resource manager by issuing an
open() and getting back a file descriptor. See
also connect message, context, combine message, and message.
- I/O privileges
- Particular rights, that, if
enabled for a given thread, allow the thread to perform
I/O instructions (such as the x86 assembler in and
out instructions).
By default, I/O privileges are disabled, because a program with
them enabled can wreak havoc on a system.
To enable I/O privileges, the thread must have the PROCMGR_AID_IO ability
enabled (see procmgr_ability())
and call ThreadCtl().
- IPC
- Interprocess Communication—the ability for two
processes (or threads) to communicate.
The QNX Neutrino RTOS offers several forms
of IPC, most notably native messaging (synchronous,
client/server relationship), POSIX message queues and pipes
(asynchronous), as well as signals.
- IPL
- Initial Program Loader—the software component
that either takes control at the processor's reset vector
(e.g., location 0xFFFFFFF0 on the x86),
or is a BIOS extension.
This component is responsible for setting up the machine
into a usable state, such that the startup program can then
perform further initializations. The IPL is written in
assembler and C. See also BIOS extension signature and
startup code.
- IRQ
- Interrupt Request—a hardware request line
asserted by a peripheral to indicate that it requires
servicing by software. The IRQ is handled by the
PIC, which then interrupts the processor, usually
causing the processor to execute an Interrupt Service
Routine (ISR).
- ISR
- Interrupt Service Routine—a routine responsible
for servicing hardware (e.g., reading and/or writing some
device ports), for updating some data structures shared between the
ISR and the thread(s) running in the application, and
for signalling the thread that some kind of event has
occurred.
- kernel
- See microkernel.
- level-sensitive
- One of two ways in which a PIC
(Programmable Interrupt Controller) can be programmed to
respond to interrupts. If the PIC is operating in
level-sensitive mode, the IRQ is considered active whenever
the corresponding hardware line is active. Contrast edge-sensitive.
- linearly mapped
- A term indicating that a certain memory component is
entirely addressable by the processor. Contrast
bank-switched.
- message
- A parcel of bytes passed from one process to another.
The OS attaches no special meaning to the content of a message—the data in a message has meaning for the
sender of the message and for its receiver, but for no one else.
Message passing not only allows processes to pass data to each
other, but also provides a means of synchronizing the execution of
several processes. As they send, receive, and reply to messages,
processes undergo various "changes of state" that affect when, and for
how long, they may run.
- microkernel
- A part of the operating system that provides the minimal services used
by a team of optional cooperating processes, which in turn provide the
higher-level OS functionality.
The microkernel itself lacks filesystems and many other
services normally expected of an OS; those services are provided by
optional processes.
- mount structure
- An optional, well-defined data structure (of type iofunc_mount_t)
within an iofunc_*() structure, which
contains information used on a per-mountpoint basis
(generally used only for filesystem resource managers).
See also attributes structure and OCB.
- mountpoint
- The location in the pathname space where a resource
manager has "registered" itself. For example,
the serial port resource manager registers mountpoints for
each serial device (/dev/ser1,
/dev/ser2, etc.), and a CD-ROM filesystem
may register a single mountpoint of /cdrom.
- multicore system
- A chip that has one physical processor with multiple CPUs
interconnected over a chip-level bus.
- mutex
- Mutual exclusion lock, a simple synchronization service
used to ensure exclusive access to data shared between
threads. It is typically acquired
(pthread_mutex_lock()) and released
(pthread_mutex_unlock()) around the code that
accesses the shared data (usually a critical
section). See also critical section.
- name resolution
- In a QNX Neutrino network, the process by which the Qnet
network manager converts an FQNN to a list of destination
addresses that the transport layer knows how to get to.
- name resolver
- Program code that attempts to convert an FQNN to a destination address.
- nd
- An abbreviation for node descriptor, a numerical identifier
for a node relative to the current node.
Each node's node descriptor for itself is 0 (ND_LOCAL_NODE).
- NDP
- Node Discovery Protocol—proprietary QNX Software Systems
protocol for broadcasting name resolution requests on a
QNX Neutrino LAN.
- network directory
- A directory in the pathname space that's implemented by the Qnet network manager.
- NFS
- Network FileSystem—a TCP/IP application that lets you graft
remote filesystems (or portions of them) onto your local pathname space.
Directories on the remote systems appear as part of
your local filesystem and all the utilities you use for listing and managing
files (e.g., ls, cp, mv) operate on the
remote files exactly as they do on your local files.
- NMI
- Nonmaskable Interrupt—an interrupt that can't
be masked by the processor. We don't recommend using an NMI!
- Node Discovery Protocol
- See NDP.
- node domain
- A character string that the Qnet network manager tacks
onto the nodename to form an FQNN.
- nodename
- A unique name consisting of a character string that identifies a node on a network.
- nonbootable
- A nonbootable OS image is usually provided for
larger embedded systems or for small embedded systems where
a separate, configuration-dependent setup may be required.
Think of it as a second "filesystem" that has
some additional files on it. Since it's nonbootable, it
typically won't contain the OS, startup file, etc. Contrast bootable.
- OCB
- Open Control Block (or Open Context Block)—a block of data established
by a resource manager during its handling of the client's
open() function. This context block is bound by
the resource manager to this particular request, and is then
automatically passed to all subsequent I/O functions
generated by the client on the file descriptor returned by
the client's open().
- partition
- A division of CPU time, memory, file resources, or kernel
resources with some policy of minimum guaranteed usage.
- pathname prefix
- See mountpoint.
- pathname space mapping
- The process whereby the Process Manager maintains an association
between resource managers and entries in the pathname space.
- persistent
- When applied to storage media, the ability for the
medium to retain information across a power-cycle. For
example, a hard disk is a persistent storage medium, whereas
a ramdisk is not, because the data is lost when power is
lost.
- PIC
- Programmable Interrupt Controller—hardware
component that handles IRQs. See also
edge-sensitive, level-sensitive, and ISR.
- PID
- Process ID. Also often pid (e.g., as an
argument in a function call).
- POSIX
- An IEEE/ISO standard. The term is an acronym (of sorts)
for Portable Operating System Interface—the
"X" alludes to "UNIX", on which
the interface is based.
- POSIX layer calls
- Convenient set of library calls for writing resource
managers. The POSIX layer calls can handle even more of the
common-case messages and functions than the base layer
calls. These calls are identified by the
iofunc_*() prefix. In order to use these (and we
strongly recommend that you do), you must also use the
well-defined POSIX-layer attributes
(iofunc_attr_t), OCB
(iofunc_ocb_t), and (optionally) mount
(iofunc_mount_t) structures.
- preemption
- The act of suspending the execution of one thread and
starting (or resuming) another. The suspended thread is said
to have been "preempted" by the new thread.
Whenever a lower-priority thread is actively consuming the
CPU, and a higher-priority thread becomes READY, the
lower-priority thread is immediately preempted by the
higher-priority thread.
- prefix tree
- The internal representation used by the Process Manager to store the pathname table.
- priority inheritance
- The characteristic of a thread that causes its priority
to be raised or lowered to that of the thread that sent it a
message. Also used with mutexes. Priority inheritance is a
method used to prevent priority inversion.
- priority inversion
- A condition that can occur when a low-priority thread
consumes CPU at a higher priority than it should. This can
be caused by not supporting priority inheritance, such that
when the lower-priority thread sends a message to a
higher-priority thread, the higher-priority thread consumes
CPU on behalf of the lower-priority thread. This is
solved by having the higher-priority thread inherit the
priority of the thread on whose behalf it's working.
- process
- A nonschedulable entity, which defines the address
space and a few data areas. A process must
have at least one thread running in it—this thread is then called the first thread.
- process group
- A collection of processes that permits the signalling of
related processes. Each process in the system is a member of
a process group identified by a process group ID. A newly
created process joins the process group of its creator.
- process group ID
- The unique identifier representing a process group during
its lifetime. A process group ID is a positive integer. The
system may reuse a process group ID after the process group
dies.
- process group leader
- A process whose ID is the same as its process group ID.
- process ID (PID)
- The unique identifier representing a process. A PID is a
positive integer. The system may reuse a process ID after
the process dies, provided no existing process group has the
same ID. Only the Process Manager can have a process ID of 1.
- pty
- Pseudo-TTY—a character-based device that has two
"ends": a master end and a slave end. Data
written to the master end shows up on the slave end, and
vice versa. These devices are typically used to interface
between a program that expects a character device and
another program that wishes to use that device (e.g., the
shell and the telnet daemon process, used for
logging in to a system over the Internet).
- pulses
- In addition to the synchronous Send/Receive/Reply
services, QNX Neutrino also supports fixed-size, nonblocking
messages known as pulses. These carry a small
payload (four bytes of data plus a single byte code). A
pulse is also one form of event that can be
returned from an ISR or a timer.
See MsgDeliverEvent() for more information.
- Qnet
- The native network manager in the QNX Neutrino RTOS.
- QoS
- Quality of Service—a policy (e.g., loadbalance) used to connect nodes in a network in
order to ensure highly dependable transmission. QoS is an issue that often arises in
high-availability (HA) networks as well as realtime control systems.
- RAM
- Random Access Memory—a memory technology characterized
by the ability to read and write any location in the device without
limitation.
Contrast flash and EPROM.
- raw mode
- In raw input mode, the character device library performs
no editing on received characters. This reduces the
processing done on each character to a minimum and provides
the highest performance interface for reading data. Also,
raw mode is used with devices that typically generate binary
data—you don't want any translations of the raw
binary stream between the device and the application.
Contrast canonical mode.
- replenishment
- In sporadic scheduling, the period of time during which
a thread is allowed to consume its execution budget.
- reset vector
- The address at which the processor begins executing
instructions after the processor's reset line has been
activated. On the x86, for example, this is the address
0xFFFFFFF0.
- resource manager
- A user-level server program that accepts messages from
other programs and, optionally, communicates with hardware.
QNX Neutrino resource managers are responsible for presenting an
interface to various types of devices, whether actual (e.g.,
serial ports, parallel ports, network cards, disk drives) or
virtual (e.g., /dev/null, a network
filesystem, and pseudo-ttys).
In other operating systems, this functionality is
traditionally associated with device drivers. But
unlike device drivers, QNX Neutrino resource managers don't require
any special arrangements with the kernel. In fact, a
resource manager looks just like any other user-level
program. See also device driver.
- RMA
- Rate Monotonic Analysis—a set of methods used to
specify, analyze, and predict the timing behavior of
realtime systems.
- round robin
- A scheduling policy whereby a thread is given a
certain period of time to run. Should the thread consume CPU
for the entire period of its timeslice, the thread will be
placed at the end of the ready queue for its priority, and
the next available thread will be made READY. If a thread is
the only thread READY at its priority level, it will be able
to consume CPU again immediately. See also
adaptive, FIFO, and sporadic.
- runmask
- A bitmask that indicates which processors a thread can run on.
Contrast inherit mask.
- runtime loading
- The process whereby a program decides while it's
actually running that it wishes to load a particular
function from a library. Contrast static linking.
- scheduling latency
- The amount of time that elapses between the point when
one thread makes another thread READY and when the other
thread actually gets some CPU time. Note that this latency
is almost always at the control of the system designer.
Also designated as "Tsl".
Contrast interrupt latency.
- scoid
- An abbreviation for server connection ID.
- session
- A collection of process groups established for job
control purposes. Each process group is a member of a
session. A process belongs to the session that its process
group belongs to. A newly created process joins the session
of its creator. A process can alter its session membership
via setsid(). A session can contain multiple
process groups.
- session leader
- A process whose death causes all processes within its process group to receive a SIGHUP
signal.
- soft thread affinity
- The scheme whereby the microkernel tries to dispatch a thread to the
processor where it last ran, in an
attempt to reduce thread migration from one processor to
another, which can affect cache performance.
Contrast hard thread affinity.
- software interrupts
- Similar to a hardware interrupt (see
interrupt), except that the source of the
interrupt is software.
- sporadic
- A scheduling policy whereby a thread's priority can
oscillate dynamically between a "foreground" or
normal priority and a "background" or low
priority. A thread is given an execution budget
of time to be consumed within a certain
replenishment period. See also
adaptive, FIFO, and round
robin.
- startup code
- The software component that gains control after the IPL
code has performed the minimum necessary amount of
initialization. After gathering information about the
system, the startup code transfers control to the OS.
- static bootfile
- An image created at one time and then transmitted whenever a node boots.
Contrast dynamic bootfile.
- static linking
- The process whereby you combine your modules with the
modules from the library to form a single executable that's
entirely self-contained. The word "static"
implies that it's not going to change—all
the required modules are already combined into one.
- symmetric multiprocessing (SMP)
- A multiprocessor system where a single instantiation of an OS
manages all CPUs simultaneously, and applications can float to any of them.
- system page area
- An area in the kernel that is filled by the startup
code and contains information about the system (number of
bytes of memory, location of serial ports, etc.) This is
also called the SYSPAGE area.
- thread
- The schedulable entity under the QNX Neutrino RTOS. A thread is a
flow of execution; it exists within the context of a
process.
- tid
- An abbreviation for thread ID.
- timer
- A kernel object used in conjunction with time-based
functions. A timer is created via timer_create()
and armed via timer_settime(). A timer can then
deliver an event, either periodically or on a
one-shot basis.
- timeslice
- A period of time assigned to a round-robin
or adaptive scheduled thread. This period of time is small (on the order
of tens of milliseconds); the actual value shouldn't be
relied upon by any program (it's considered bad design).
- TLB
- An abbreviation for translation look-aside buffer.
To maintain performance, the processor caches frequently used portions
of the external memory page tables in the TLB.
- TLS
- An abbreviation for thread local storage.