Zilog EZ80F91AZA - Manual (Page 31)

UM007518-1211 General Questions about RZK
Zilog Real-Time Kernel: eZ80
®
CPU
User Manual
21
Appendix A. Frequently Asked
Questions
This chapter presents answers to many commonly-asked questions about the Zilog Real-
Time Kernel.
General Questions about RZK
Q:
What is RZK?
A:
RZK is Zilog’s real-time, priority-based, preemptive and multitasking kernel designed
for time-critical embedded applications. It can currently be used with Zilog's eZ80 family
of microprocessors, for which it is specifically optimized. The response time of RZK is
quick when compared with other commercially-available operating systems.
Q:
Why should I use RZK?
A:
You can use RZK as your kernel, especially if you already have eZ80 processors.
RZK is a reliable kernel and has many protocol stacks implemented on it. Next, the modu-
lar design concepts of RZK allows you to tailor it to meet your product requirements.
Moreover, RZK provides all of the standard benefits of an RTOS with very low memory
and processing overhead. Therefore, it is quite affordable to use with 8-bit processors as
they relate to product and development costs and resource overhead for most present-day
implementations.
The modular structure of RZK makes it convenient to tailor it to customer needs. How is
RZK released and what are the benefits, if any, of the way it is packaged? What are the
benefits of using the RZK libraries?
The modular design of RZK breaks up the software into a number of objects. RZK is
released as set of libraries, with each RZK object forming a library. When you develop
your application using RZK, you include all of the RZK libraries; however, the APIs that
you use determines which libraries are linked to your application. This mechanism
reduces your memory footprint. Moreover, the application can be accommodated where
memory requirements are lower.
Q: What are the features of RZK?
A:
RZK provides extensive coverage of easy-to-use APIs. It also provides low interrupt
latency, allows nested interrupts and supports interrupt threads. Thread switching time is
kept to a minimum by exploiting the Zilog microprocessor and microcontroller architec-
ture.