Real-Time Java™ Platform Programming

Preface

Real-time computing—computing with deadlines—is a field that involves every programmer, but almost nobody gives it serious attention. The machine tool that controls a flying saw blade is a real-time problem. So is a web site that guarantees to respond to queries within two seconds, or the text editor that must respond to each keystroke within a tenth of a second to keep its user comfortable. In the broadest sense, even the biweekly payroll run is a real-time system.

To the extent that typical programmers worry about timeliness, they think in terms of high-performance algorithms, optimizing compilers, and fast processors. Those are important considerations, but they ignore the question of consistent performance. There are a whole family ...