2How to select an OS
In “the old days,” you would pick a CPU first and then discuss the operating system (OS)—after discussing whether such was really necessary at all. Today, it is more common to choose the OS first and then a CPU, or a CPU-family. In reality, it is often an iterative process. You may, for example, decide to go for Linux, but this requires a MMU (memory management unit), and this may drive you toward too big and expensive CPUs. In that case, you may have to redo you original choice. Table 2.1 is a “kick-start” to this chapter. It shows an overall trend from simple to advanced.
Table 2.1: Task management—from simple to advanced.
| OS/Kernel/Language | Type |
| Simple main | Strictly polling |
| Ruby | Co-routines |
| Modula-2 | Co-routines |
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