Many systems consist of a front end operator interface on a separate platform to the controllers – e.g. a Windows GUI will present a friendly easy to use method of editing a playlist, but actual control would be done on a platform with a real-time operating system such that any large-scale playlist amendments do not cause delays to device control.
Many systems have a user interface for managing tasks like playlist editing on a separate platform than the controllers – such as a Windows GUI that makes it easy to edit playlists, but actual control is handled by a real-time operating system to avoid performance issues when making large changes to the playlist.