Tornado: An Embedded System
Development Tool
Maung Wynn Aung Han
CIS 642, Spring 2001
Prof. Insup Lee
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Tornado
 An
IDE to develop real-time and
embedded applications with minimal
intrusion on the target system.
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Tornado comprises:
 VxWorks,
a high-performance real-time
operating system.
 Application-building tools (compilers
and associated programs).
 IDE for managing projects, host-target
communication, running, debugging,
and monitoring VxWorks applications.
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The Tornado IDE
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An integrated source-code editor.
A project management facility.
Integrated C and C++ compiler and linker.
The browser, a visual monitoring tool for
target system.
CrossWind, a source-level debugger.
WindSh, C and Tcl command shell that
controls the target.
VxWorks target simulator VxSim.
WindView software logic analyzer for the
target simulator.
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Overview of Tornado IDE
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The Tornado shell (WindSh)

allows you to download application modules,
 invoke both VxWorks and application module
subroutines.
 Can be used for interactive exploration of the
VxWorks operating system and applications.
 WindSh can interpret most C language
expressions.
 A Tcl interpreter is also included.
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Debugger (CrossWind)
 Setting
breakpoints and controlling
program execution.
 Program listings and data-inspection
windows.
 Command-line
interface
extendable by Tcl scripting.
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Browser
 The
main browser window can be used
to monitor active
system and application tasks
 memory consumption
 summary of the current target memory use
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The displays are snapshots and can be
configured to update interactively, or
the automatically at a specified interval.
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Browser Display Includes:
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detailed task information
semaphores
message queues
memory partitions
watchdog timers
stack usage by all tasks on the target
target CPU usage by task
object-module structure and symbols
interrupt vectors
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WindView
 WindView
acts as a logic analyzer for
real-time software.
 It allows to study the dynamic
interactions of among elements of your
complex system.
 triggering facility to start and stop
data collection.
 view graph provides visual chronicle
of the real-time system.
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An example of WindView screen
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WindView can be used to:
• Detect race conditions, deadlocks, CPU
starvation, and other problems relating to
task interaction.
• Determine application responsiveness and
performance.
• See cyclic patterns in application
behavior.
• Save data for deferred analysis.
• Conduct post-mortem analyses of failed
systems.
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A Simple Demo (priority inversion)
using resource B
high
release B
need resource A (blocked)
need resource B (blocked)
long execution
mid
low
preempted
release A
using resource A
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Sample program structure
Main task will spawn three tasks with
low, high and medium priorities
consecutively with some delay.
 Three Tasks will use resources as
explained above.
 After launching the three tasks, the
main task terminates.
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Task States
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Some WindView legends
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Seeing the tasks started in WindView
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High priority task blocked
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Low priority task preempted
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Medium priority task blocks
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Low priority task executes to the
end and higher ones follow.
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After using priority inheritance
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Before using priority inheritance
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Conclusion

VxWorks is an established platform of
RTOS.
 Tornado suite of tools allow fast
development of embedded systems.
 Good debugging/monitoring tools improve
reliability of systems.
 Finally, I explored it out of curiosity and
don’t get paid by WindRiver. :)
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(but thanks to Mr Aftahi from WindRiver for Site Keys)
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References
www.windriver.com
 www.wrs.com
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