this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a general-purpose OS, and that is generally a bad choice for safety-critical real-time applications. And it is not something that Linux can just be adapted for – the biggest problems are: the kernel is big and the code is complex. Anything added do Linux to 'solve that' would just make it even bigger and even more complex. And removing stuff for kernel would just make it worse general-purpose OS.
The solution for proprietary RTOSes used there would be to create a new, open-source one. This should be doable as those are small and simple by definition (to some extent – only as simple as they can be for given task). I guess this will happen one day, though it is harder for it to happen naturally, as that is not something hobbyists would do for their own needs in their own time and that is usually what starts an open source projects.
On the other hand – Linux can co-exist and I am sure it does co-exist with those specialized RTOSes. I would assume that even on a Boeing airplane there are many Linux instances running… or even Windows ones.
A FreeRTOS derivative has gone through the effort of getting certified for safety critical applications, but that derivative is sadly proprietary. Even if FreeRTOS itself can't meet that bar, though, the work wouldn't have to start from scratch.
Agreed. It's not really a knock against Linux that it's not fit for this very niche purpose. Specialized OSes have their place. An avionics OS isn't exactly competing with Linux for market share.
Wouldn't it be possible to make a Linux kernel for real time applications? That would obviously be very stripped down, but you're not going to run Crysis on your avionics computer anyway.
The problem with modern distributions is that nobody ever has to deal with their own kernel anymore and nobody learns how to trim one down and build it.