VxWorks

I spent the last four days attending a training seminar on VxWorks, the real-time operating system from Wind River.

This operating system is booted up and loaded to run the small computer program used by some modern fighter jet ejection seats. The computer program calculates an angle, according to the Michel Chabroux, the instructor of our seminar. He brought up the ejection seat story because it illustrated the need for a fast booting operating system. VxWorks can go from zero to application run within seconds. I know it takes my PC up to a minute to fire up, and then it takes up to a minute to start mail, and my web browser. Jenn and I typically leave it on during the day. A pilot needing to abort can't wait that long. I spent the week looking at the operating system that helps him out in this situation.

Who was the programmer who wrote that little program? How big was the VxWorks OS (it can be made very small if you don't need all of its features)? If you're reading this, send me an e-mail!