So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
jaycarlson.net
So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
1–10 of 113 posts
Re: So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
#2No, I don't want. I want to use mature distro, with thousands of packages, with known bugs fixed, with fresh software, like Fedora.
Re: So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
#3No, I don't want. I want to use mature distro, with thousands of packages, with known bugs fixed, with fresh software, like Fedora.
This comment doesn't make any sense to me - it's like responding to an article titled "So, you want to build a transistor radio from scratch?" with "No, I want the latest iPod Touch".
Re: So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
#4Jay also did a great rundown of $1 microcontrollers a few years ago:
https://jaycarlson.net/microcontrollers/
This embedded Linux article is a really worthy followup!
Re: So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
#5No, I don't want. I want to use mature distro, with thousands of packages, with known bugs fixed, with fresh software, like Fedora.
This comment doesn't make any sense to me - it's like responding to an article titled "So, you want to build a transistor radio from scratch?" with "No, I want the latest iPod Touch".
Article title doesn't contain "from scratch", so I will rewrite your example as "So, you want to build AM radio?" and my response will be "No, I want to build FM radio, because of tons of FM radio stations available to listen".
Re: So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
#6No, I don't want. I want to use mature distro, with thousands of packages, with known bugs fixed, with fresh software, like Fedora.
You want "to use mature distro, with thousands of packages, with known bugs fixed, with fresh software, like Fedora." on an embedded system. Really?
Re: So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
#7No, I don't want. I want to use mature distro, with thousands of packages, with known bugs fixed, with fresh software, like Fedora.
This comment doesn't make any sense to me - it's like responding to an article titled "So, you want to build a transistor radio from scratch?" with "No, I want the latest iPod Touch".
There are lots of embedded systems beefy enough that Fedora is an appropriate choice.
Re: So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
#8Wow, what a great write up – thank you, Jay!
I have seen this exact confusion with many friends and colleagues in the past who don’t understand just how different a micro controller is from an application processor, and what a difference it makes and even simple things (ha ha simple) like circuit board layout.
And application programmers are so used to things like virtual memory and thinking or hoping the system, never mind an application garbage collector, will manage memory that when you suddenly tell them their stack is limited to a few kilobytes and please please limit your heap usage, too they’re … Cast adrift!
Re: So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
This comment doesn't make any sense to me - it's like responding to an article titled "So, you want to build a transistor radio from scratch?" with "No, I want the latest iPod Touch".
Article title doesn't contain "from scratch", so I will rewrite your example as "So, you want to build AM radio?" and my response will be "No, I want to build FM radio, because of tons of FM radio stations available to listen".
The article isn't even close to being about building a linux distribution. It's about embedded electronics engineers moving from microcontrollers with custom embedded firmware to SBCs using minimal linux for embedded systems. So accepting your revision, the response would be "no, I want to buy a stereo system".
Re: So you want to build an embedded Linux system?
#10No, I don't want. I want to use mature distro, with thousands of packages, with known bugs fixed, with fresh software, like Fedora.
Well you can have that, those are the repositories mostly, which you have access to when building your linux. So you have a mature source of code, but what makes a distro 'mature' isn't really of any value in the embedded space. Kernel, core utils, init system, some packages and you custom code, and your done. You now have your own distro, code is mature, boots really fast and is probably more stable and secure that the mature distro which is trying to be everything under the sun. When you only need the linux to do one specific thing you can make something that is really rock solid and actually have a sense of everything that is going on under the hood. Having some guy whose, honestly mostly uneducated, solution is to just throw fedora on there is going to create a crap system.