Distributed Real-Time Systems

This classroom-tested textbook describes the design and implementation of software for distributed real-time systems, using a bottom-up approach. The text addresses common challenges faced in software projects involving real-time systems, and presents a novel method for simply and effectively performing all of the software engineering steps. Each chapter opens with a discussion of the core concepts, together with a review of the relevant methods and available software. This is then followed with a description of the implementation of the concepts in a sample kernel, complete with executable code.

Topics and features:

Introduces the fundamentals of real-time systems, including real-time architecture and distributed real-time systemsPresents a focus on the real-time operating system, covering the concepts of task, memory, and input/output managementProvides a detailed step-by-step construction of a real-time operating system kernel, which is then used to test various higher level implementationsDescribes periodic and aperiodic scheduling, resource management, and distributed schedulingReviews the process of application design from high-level design methods to low-level details of design and implementationSurveys real-time programming languages and fault tolerance techniquesIncludes end-of-chapter review questions, extensive C code, numerous examples, and a case study implementing the methods in real-world applicationsSupplies additional material at an associated website


Requiring only a basic background in computer architecture and operating systems, this practically-oriented work is an invaluable study aid for senior undergraduate and graduate-level students of electrical and computer engineering, and computer science. The text will also serve as a useful general reference for researchers interested in real-time systems.

Dr. KayhanErciyes is a full Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering at Üsküdar University, Istanbul, Turkey. His other publications include the Springer titles Guide to Graph Algorithms, Distributed and Sequential Algorithms for Bioinformatics, and Distributed Graph Algorithms for Computer Networks.​