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QNX

created by drdink

(thing) by Duane Dibbley (4.7 y) (print)   ?   (I like it!) 1 C! Wed Aug 02 2000 at 17:17:11

Some people may gripe about QNX being inflexible and difficult to use. However, there is one reason QNX is a kickass operating system (besides being super fast and super compact). It's stable. Very stable. Like so stable it is fault tolerant and suitable for situations where failure of the OS could result in death or injury. Check our this excerpt from their developer EULA:
Unless QSSL has provided you with express written consent, the Product may not be used in any application in which the failure of the Product could lead directly to death, personal injury, or severe physical or property damage (collectively, "High-Risk Activities"), including but not limited to the operation of nuclear facilities, aircraft navigation or communication systems, air traffic control, weapon systems and direct life support machines. QSSL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF FITNESS FOR HIGH-RISK ACTIVITIES. (emphasis added)
Microsoft, Apple and Linus Torvalds won't ever say you can get written consent to get around this disclaimer. In fact, they'll expressly deny that they can do this or make that kind of offer (read the EULA's). However, pay for the proper license and the right product, and QNX can promise this kind of stability. That's one reason it's so expensive.

At least, that's what I was told.

(thing) by TheAlien (8.3 mon) (print)   ?   (I like it!) 2 C!s Fri Jun 29 2001 at 9:20:33

Humm... looks like it's time for a history lesson!

QNX was originally created by Dan Dodge and Gordon Bell in 1980 and ran on prototype, wire-wrapped 8088 and 6809 machines.

The OS was originally called Qunix, "Quantum UNIX", until they received a polite letter from AT&T's lawyers asking that they change the name.

One of the first high-volume applications for QNX was as the enabling keyboard timeout dedicated word-processing machines to provide networked file servers. QNX was also used in the ICON machines that were destined for classrooms in Ontario schools.

Until recently, QNX was used for everything from medical instrumentation to nuclear reactor monitoring, to traffic light control, to brewing beer. You probably use QNX several times a day without being aware of it. However, with the new Neutrino kernel, the OS has advanced into the desktop market, see: The QNX Realtime Platform.

And now, some firsts:

See:
- http://www.qnx.com/
- http://www.qnxzone.com/

printable version
chaos

QNX Realtime Platform Photon MicroGUI VxWorks BeOS
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Operating system I-Opener vi FreeBSD
POSIX International House of Pancakes The 11Gig Floppy Disk Grosse Pointe Blank
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