< Back to index

Contiki is a small, open source computer operating system developed for use on a number of smallish systems ranging from 8-bit computers to embedded systems on microcontrollers, including sensor network motes. The name Contiki comes from Thor Heyerdahl's famous Kon-Tiki raft.

Despite providing multitasking and a built-in TCP/IP stack, Contiki only requires a few kilobytes of code and a few hundred bytes of RAM. A fully fledged system complete with a graphical user interface requires about 30 kilobytes of RAM.

The basic kernel and most of the core functions are developed by Adam Dunkels.

Features


A full installation of Contiki includes the following features:
* Multitasking kernel
* Optional pre-emptive multitasking (on a per-application basis)
* Protothreads
* TCP/IP networking
* Windowing system and GUI
* Networked remote display using Virtual Network Computing
* A web browser (claimed to be the world smallest)
* Personal web server
* Simple telnet client
* Screensaver

More applications planned include:
* an email client
* an Internet Relay Chat client

Ports


The Contiki operating system has been or is being ported to the following systems:

* Computers:
* * Apple II family
* * Atari 8-bit
* * Atari ST
* * Atari Portfolio
* * Casio Pocketview
* * Commodore PET
* * Commodore VIC 20
* * Commodore 64
* * Commodore 128
* * GP32
* * PC-6001
* * Sharp Wizard
* * TRS-80 Color Computer
* * x86-based Unix-like systems, on top of GTK+ as well as directly using the X Window System (http://hstein.trix.net/contiki)

* Video game consoles:
* * PC Engine
* * Sega Dreamcast
* * Sony PlayStation

* Handheld game consoles:
* * Nintendo Game Boy
* * Nintendo Game Boy Advance

* Microcontrollers:
* * Atmel AVR
* * TI MSP430
This entry uses material from from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Disclaimer.