mirror of
https://github.com/QuantumLeaps/qpc.git
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112 lines
5.4 KiB
Markdown
112 lines
5.4 KiB
Markdown
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> **NOTE:** If your company has a policy forbidding open source in your
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product, all QP frameworks can be
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[licensed commercially](https://state-machine.com/licensing),
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in which case you don't use any open source license and you do not violate
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your policy.
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# What's New?
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View QP/C Revision History at: https://state-machine.com/qpc/history.html
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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# About QP/C
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QP/C (Quantum Platform in C) is a lightweight, open source software
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framework/RTOS for building reactvie real-time embedded applications
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as systems of cooperating, event-driven active objects (actors). The
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QP/C framework is a member of a larger [QP] family consisting of
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QP/C, QP/C++, and QP-nano frameworks, which are all strictly quality
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controlled, thoroughly documented, and commercially licensable.
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## Safer Model of Concurrency
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The [QP] framework family is based on the [Active Object] (**actor**)
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design pattern, which inherently supports and automatically enforces the
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following best practices of concurrent programming:
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- Keep data isolated and bound to active objects' threads. Threads should
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hide (**encapsulate**) their private data and other resources, and not
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share them with the rest of the system.
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- Communicate among active object threads **asynchronously** via event
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objects. Using asynchronous events keeps the threads running truly
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independently, **without blocking** on each other.
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- Active object threads should spend their lifetime responding to incoming
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events, so their mainline should consist of an **event-loop** that handles
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events one at a time (to completion), thus avoiding any concurrency hazards
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within an active object thread itself.
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This architecture is generally **safer**, more responsive and easier to
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understand and maintain than the shared-state concurrency of a conventional
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RTOS. It also provides higher level of abstraction and the right
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abstractions to effectively apply **modeling** and **code generation** to
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deeply embedded real-time systems.
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## Hierarchical State Machines
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The behavior of active objects is specified in QP/C by means of
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[Hierarchical State Machines] (UML statecharts). The framework
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supports manual coding of UML state machines in C as well as automatic
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**code generation** by means of the free [QM] modeling tool.
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## Built-in Real-Time Kernels
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The QP/C framework can run on bare-metal single-chip microcontrollers,
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completely replacing a traditional RTOS. The framework contains a selection
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of **built-in real-time kernels**, such as the cooperative QV kernel, the
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preemptive non-blocking QK kernel, and the preemptive, blocking QXK kernel
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that provides all the features you might expect from a traditional RTOS.
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Native QP ports and ready-to-use examples are provided for major CPUs, such
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as ARM Cortex-M (M0/M0+/M3/M4/M7).
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## Traditional RTOS/OS
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QP/C can also work with a traditional RTOS, such as ThreadX, embOS,
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uC/OS-II and TI-RTOS, as well as with (embedded) Linux (POSIX) and Windows.
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## Maturity
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With 60,000 downloads a year, the [QP] family is the most popular such
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solution on the embedded software market. It provides a modern, reusable
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architecture for embedded applications, which combines the active-object
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model of concurrency with hierarchical state machines.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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# Getting Started with QP/C
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The following "Getting Started with QP/C" guide provides step-by-step
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instructions on how to download, install, and get started with QP/C quickly:
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https://state-machine.com/doc/AN_Getting_Started_with_QPC.pdf
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The guide also contains a tutorial, in which you build a simple "Blinky"
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application.
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> **NOTE:** QP/C can be unzipped anywhere in your file system, but the
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recommended location is `C:\qp\qpc` on Windows and `~/qp/qpc`
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on Linux/MacOS.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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# QP/C Licensing
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QP/C is licensed under the increasingly popular
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[dual licensing model](https://state-machine.com/licensing), in which both
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the open source software distribution mechanism and traditional closed
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source software distribution models are combined.
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> **NOTE:** If your company has a policy forbidding open source in your
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product, all QP frameworks can be
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[licensed commercially](https://state-machine.com/licensing), in which case
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you don't use any open source license and you do not violate your policy.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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# QP/C Documentation
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The **QP/C Manual** is located online at: https://state-machine.com/qpc
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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# How to get help?
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- [Free Support Forum](https://sourceforge.net/p/qpc/discussion/668726)
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- [Bug Reports](https://sourceforge.net/p/qpc/bugs/)
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- [Feature Requests](https://sourceforge.net/p/qpc/feature-requests/)
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- [Quantum Leaps website](https://state-machine.com)
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- [Quantum Leaps licensing](https://state-machine.com/licensing)
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- [info@state-machine.com](mailto:info@state-machine.com)
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[QP]: <https://state-machine.com/products/#QP>
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[QM]: <https://state-machine.com/qm>
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[Active Object]: <https://state-machine.com/doc/concepts#Active>
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[Hierarchical State Machines]: <https://state-machine.com/doc/concepts#HSM>
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