In defense of Windows, Linux does still have some other issues to be addressed. But it looks as if I/O is not one of them. Apparently, Linux reigns supreme with in the hardware Input/Output game. I will admit that part of me is not really that surprised as it is a no-nonsense OS. Still, this alone is not going to mean all that much to those wanting to ‘make the switch’ in my opinion.

Hardware I/O is important to quite a few people but the traditional way in which Windows and Linux treat I/O is far from ideal. In this article we will look at these traditional ways, and show a new way which makes Linux a clear winner over Windows for hardware I/O.

Who cares about hardware I/O, where a computer directly controls hardware?

Hobbyists love hardware I/O to control microprocessors, motors, robots, their home and more. For example in the February 2004 Linux Gazette, Pramode C.E. interfaced Linux to a PIC microprocessor (see “Let’s Build a Cool Linux Toy”).

Engineering students who do subjects in electronics and computing often need to interface their computer to hardware. This can make great projects and to be used to test constructed hardware.

Industry needs cheap and powerful controllers for manufacturing and serious hardware control. In many cases Linux works just fine, especially with some of the real time extensions that can be added. To read about real time extensions see the GPL RTAI at http://www.aero.polimi.it/~rtai or the free RTLinux from FSM Labs at www.fsmlabs.com
At RMIT University where I work we have a security system based on Redhat 6.1 that has been operational for some 8 years. It has briefly crashed twice, once due to the log file filling the hard disk and once due to a problem with the database engine.