[Moved] Why/When would one need to use linux in an embedded system design

[matrixofdynamism]

I have written bare metal code for PIC and an x86 processor. It is not clear to me how/why/when would one use linux on an embedded system.

As far as I can say, writing a C program will still make use of the same printf, scanf e.t.c. What benfit can one get by having the C program for the embedded application run in linux?

Can someone give me an example of this?

 

[Dan Mills]

Re: Why/When would one need to use linux in an embedded system design

Embedded sometimes means tiny, but these days that is not always the case....

Sometimes having a protected memory multi tasking OS with nice things like modern schedulers, IPC and VM is a huge win. Multiple cores are nice, but do you really want to have to deal with shared memory and TLB flushes in application code?

Sometimes being able to leaverage modern graphics is a good thing, and sometimes you get into a position (Like you do with some of the built in arm cores on FPGAs) where it is use a full blown OS or spend several weeks figuring out how you need to configure memory management, cache controls and preripheral configuration registers just to get the thing to boot.

Sometimes bare metal is the answer, sometimes some kind of minimal RTOS is the answer and sometimes the right choice is a full blown Linux or even Windows install.

Pick the right tool for the job.

Regards, Dan.

 

[matrixofdynamism]

Re: Why/When would one need to use linux in an embedded system design

Thanks, where can I find full example of a project done which makes use of linux on a embedded platform as the OS for the application? If I can see a real project with full code it will solve the mystery.

 

[Dan Mills]

Re: Why/When would one need to use linux in an embedded system design

Just about any domestic ADSL/Wifi router type thing stands an excelent chance of being a Linux box under the hood https://openwrt.org/ for one common thir party distribution.

Most "Smart TVs" are Linux boxes, same thing for some digital signage....., and then there is the whole mobile phone/tablet thing (Android).

Regards, Dan.

 

[matrixofdynamism]

Re: Why/When would one need to use linux in an embedded system design

OK, where can I find a project which will clearly demonstrate how embedded linux is used with the source code? I am very eager to see something indepth.

 

[bigdogguru]

The following text has some fairly good real world examples of using Embedded Linux with various platforms and applications:


Embedded Linux: Hardware, Software, and Interfacing

While it is not the most recent, the examples are actual applications and the text can be purchased used rather inexpensively, 1 cent.

I've also moved this thread to the Embedded Systems and Real-Time OS section which seems to be more appropriate for its topic.


BigDog

 

[matrixofdynamism]

Interesting, the book is from 2002 but I shall check it anyway. I wonder why a much later edition of this does not exist.

 

[bigdogguru]

There are other more recent texts which cover the implementation of an Embedded Linux System, however they lack the real world applications presented in the aforementioned text.

Notable reference texts covering the topic are as follows:

Embedded Linux Primer: A Practical Real-World Approach

Building Embedded Linux Systems

Embedded Linux Primer: A Practical Real-World Approach


BigDog