NicheTask, is a non-preemptive operating system, derived from
code placed in the public domain by Carnegie Mellon University.
Since 1998 it has been used as the principal in-house OS by
InterNiche Technologies.
Why use NicheTask?
NicheTask a small, efficient and flexible task execution system
and is royalty free. Many companies have developed embedded
operating systems and RTOSes that may cost thousand dollars
in licensing and royalty fees.
Why is it free?
Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy,
distribute, study, change and improve the software. More
precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom for the
users of the software:
The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to
your needs. (Access to the source code is a
precondition for this.)
The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your
neighbor.
The freedom to improve the program, and release your
improvements to the public, so that the whole community
benefits. (Access to the source code is a
precondition for this.)
Courtesy GNU.org
Why is InterNiche Technologies distributing royalty free embedded
operating system source code?
Our goal in releasing NicheTask under an open source license
is to make available a small, lightweight multitasking system
for any embedded device, harness the pool of talented embedded
developers, and further enhance NicheTask functionality by
leveraging the imagination, development and debugging efforts
of the NicheTask user community.
What is included?
The NicheTask distribution includes: the NicheTask source
code written in C, make/build files, and a number of reference ports.
What are the license terms?
What we've tried to do with this license is say that you can use it for
most anything, but if you found it necessary to make modifications to
NicheTask or to add features you needed, return them to NicheTask.com
for possible inclusion in future releases.
View the license
It's pretty simple, really - The cost of the RTOS is your promise to
help improve it.
Please feel free to ask any specific questions about the license via
our
Communication page.
Who else is using NicheTask?
In addition to NicheTask's having been distributed with the InterNiche's NicheStack
products for a number of years and has been utilized in hundreds
of embedded products, it is distributed as source code by InterNiche partners
NXP,
Freescale and
ST Microelectronics.
Can I advertise on NicheTask.com ?
Of COURSE you can! For more information, please contact us via
our Email page.
This site hasn't always been called NicheTask.com, has it?
You're right, this is the same operating system as used to be available through
FreeRTOS.com but to reduce confusion with the software distributed through
the ".org" of the same name, we have elected to make our source code
available via NicheTask.com instead.
Preemption?
In simple terms, preemption is what happens when the operating system
decides to take control of the CPU from the executing task. Co-operative
scheduling, on the other hand, is the scheme whereby the task itself
decides to yield the CPU. NicheTask is a Co-operative, multi-tasking
scheduler.
What ports are available?
InterNiche and user contributed ports are available on the
Ports and BSPs page.
What tools and add-ons are available for NicheTask?
InterNiche Technologies and their partners offer a number
of protocol and development tool offerings that are fully
compatible with NicheTask.
Take a look now!
Are enhancements available?
In addition to Ports, BSPs and enhancements
contributed by NicheTask adopters, there are
commercial extras
available from a growing list of vendors.
Look at
InterNiche (www.iniche.com)
for Embedded TCP/IP Solutions and more information.
What is a BSP?
A BSP is a Board Support Package, and is the only part of NicheTask
that is tied to the particular hardware and toolchain selected for
the project. This is the code which initializes the processor and
peripherals, initializes the interrupt mechanism and performs task
switches.
In the simplest case (for example the
Win32 and
x86/Linux
ports, which don't use interrupts) the BSP sets up a task's stack
so that when a task calls the scheduler, it "returns" from another
task.
How do I contribute my enhancements?
Just send us email telling us about your port and and we'll
let you know how to make your port available. We'll also link
to your own website if you'd like.
NicheLite 12K TCP/IP
12K Code is ideal for Cortex and LPC designs.
Standards Compliant & NicheTask Ready.