Design of a High Resolution Soft Real-Time Timer under a Win32 Operating

This article defines a real-time timer, and shows that a Win32 PC operating system does not provide a timer that fits this definition. Without a realtime timer, a true hard real-time system cannot be implemented. Not withstanding this, some companies, including Microsoft itself, provide real-time extensions to the Win32 PC platform, enabling the development of real-time implementations. Bearing this in mind, a solution is presented in which a workaround is found for the shortcomings of the timers provided Win32 PC platform, without looking to real-time extensions as the solution. Also considered is the question of whether the workaround offered here is likely to be compatible with expected advances in future Central Processing Unit (CPU) technologies