This book is about the use of IEEE 1588, and the explicit representation of time in the design and operation of measurement, control, and communication systems. These systems share a common feature in that they interact with devices or processes that themselves operate based on real-world time. Such systems are often termed "hard real-time systems" because their actions must meet time constraints imposed by the application space, rather than by the operation of the measurement or control devices.
Examples of such hard real-time systems abound. In the measurement world, complex test systems composed of many electronic instruments operating in concert are used to verify the performance of even more complex electronic or electromechanical devices such as radar systems, electronic engine controls, power generators, and heart pacemakers. In the field of control, combinations of computers, controllers, sensors, and actuators collaborate to regulate printing presses, oil refineries, packaging machines, traffic lights, and home heating equipment. Communications systems operate to pass information from source to destination, and are governed by the laws of physics, the operation of the communication protocols, and the vagaries of users that result in unpredictable traffic flows.
The use of time in measurement and control is actually very familiar, as our everyday life seems to be governed by the clock. Alarm clocks have been with us for ages.
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