Stand-alone systems are systems that function independently of other systems
and do not require any form of network or
media transfer to perform their functions. These functions are
usually simple repetitive actions based on static information that
is not prone to frequent changes. Some examples of stand-alone systems are:
graphical based systems for passenger travel inquiries, such as bus and train
timetables, subway routes and so on
information terminals, such as exhibition stand layouts, office locations within
large sites, shop locations within shopping malls
specialist engineering equipment such as engine tuning, control equipment, robotics
medical applications such as scanner control systems, monitoring equipment
environmental control systems for buildings, such as lighting, air
conditioning, blind controls, freezers
The Embedded Configuration Toolkit provides a mechanism to enable you
to generate a UNIX operating system that is tailored
to both the system hardware and requirements of the
stand-alone application. Once the operating system has been generated,
you can use the toolkit to bundle your application
and tailored operating system into an image that can
then be loaded onto the stand-alone system hardware.
NOTE:
Although the toolkit does not generate the application itself, it
does provide some additional products that enable you to
easily integrate additional features such as printer support, modems,
X windows and so on. The SCO Embedded
Configuration Toolkit, Developer's Handbook also provides advice on how
to design and implement the application to take full
advantage of the special operating environment it creates.