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Computer science from A to Z
T is for Time
“Please wait”: what an irritating sight this sentence makes on your computer screen.
But in some situations, known as “real time” situations, such a wait could bring disaster!
Fortunately, when an aircraft pilot gives the command for the landing gear to be lowered, he knows that his onboard computer will complete the task within the required time.
But that is not all! As well as the maximum response time, we need to ensure compliance with other constraints, such as the order of operations: the computer must ensure that the protective flap has finished opening before the wheels are deployed.
In order to meet the constraints of real time, computer scientists are developing specific operating systems and programming languages.
Compliance with time constraints is sometimes vital, such as for the safety systems of nuclear power stations. In other cases, time constraints are merely a quality factor, such as with the display of pixels on a digital television.
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