Tried and true. Part 3: issues in real-time systems

The two previous parts [see ibid., June 2002 issue] presented initial definitions of real-time systems. This column will address some of the issues faced in designing and developing a real-time system. The author discusses three areas of concern within real-time systems: performance, determinism, and fault tolerance. Then, some heuristics for designing real-time systems to accommodate these concerns are presented.