Preface
WHAT IS μC/OS-III?
μC/OS-III (pronounced “Micro C O S Three) is a scalable, ROMable, preemptive real-time
kernel that manages an unlimited number of tasks. μC/OS-III is a third-generation kernel
and offers all of the services expected from a modern real-time kernel, such as resource
management, synchronization, inter-task communications, and more. However, μC/OS-III
offers many unique features not found in other real-time kernels, such as the ability to
complete performance measurements at run-time, to directly signal or send messages to
tasks, achieve pending on multiple kernel objects, and more.
WHY A NEW μC/OS VERSION?
The μC/OS series, first introduced in 1992, has undergone a number of changes over the
years based on feedback from thousands of people using and deploying its evolving
versions.
μC/OS-III is the sum of this feedback and experience. Rarely used μC/OS-II features were
eliminated and newer, more efficient features and services, were added. Probably the most
common request was to add round robin scheduling, which was not possible for μC/OS-II,
but is now a feature of μC/OS-III.
μC/OS-III also provides additional features that better exploit the capabilities of today’s
newer processors. Specifically, μC/OS-III was designed with 32-bit processors in mind,
although it certainly works well with 16- and even several 8-bit processors.
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