Task scheduling is a main activity in the design of real-time systems (RTS)
. It assures both functionality and safety of such systems. RTS can be mode
led as a set of periodic tasks that must be completed before specific deadl
ines. In this paper, we investigate the fuzzy scheduling models on RTS and
the main methodologies that solve these models. Thus, we present general pe
riodic task scheduling models with fuzzy deadlines and fuzzy processing tim
es; scheduling algorithms based on optimal assignment of the priorities; an
d a more general framework for designing RTS, Rate Monotonic Scheduling The
ory, that includes the scheduling algorithms. A case study will illustrate
the use of the theory. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.