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Qplus, An Open Source Embedded Linux Toolkit
An anonymous reader writes "In this article at LinuxDevices.com, Jerry Epplin takes a detailed look Qplus, an open source embedded Linux toolkit, examining what the project has accomplished -- and what is still to be done. Epplin concludes that "...The introduction of Qplus is certain to be a welcome development for developers who have been hoping for a pure open source embedded Linux toolkit. It is already an impressively capable kit, with suitably ambitious goals and a well-designed infrastructure to achieve them.""
Some time ago, during the "dot-com" boom, it seemed like everyone with money to blow was hopping on the linux bandwagon, and particularly the "embedded linux" bandwagon. The dispassionate observer would wonder why. After all, Linux was developed for desktop PCs, and it has all of the baggage associated with the Unix platform it was based on, whereas what is needed in the embedded world is rapid development, a low profile, hardware integration, and real-time performance. Linux has none of these things, but these eager venture capitalists didn't seem to mind.
.NET framework, which is leading to a true paradigm shift in computing. Just compare the smooth user experience of the windows-based Pocket PC platform to kludgy, unusable linux-based devices such as the Sharp Zaurus. Embedded linux is behind the times, and only slips behind further as the years go by. Don't get left behind yourself.
They split into two groups. One assumed that since linux, unlike established real-time operating systems like those from QNX and Wind River Software, and Microsoft's Windows CE and Windows NT Embedded, was free, as with low-end PC servers, the low cost would make up for the poor performance and lack of features. They just took regular old microcomputer Linux, stuck the embedded label on, and sold it for the minimum price they could ask and still (theoretically, in the distant future) turn a profit.
The other group assumed that the main power of linux was its name recognition, and developed "enhanced" versions with proprietary add-ons, the total package costing at least as much as a reputable embedded OS, and still having most of the drawbacks of standard linux. They assumed it would sell anyway, because of the trendiness of linux, and the momentary prestige of the "open source" label (even though their products were largely proprietary).
Thankfully, most of these shysters have been exposed for the frauds they were, and most of these outfits were swiftly liquidated as the bubble burst. But some stragglers such as this outfit apparently haven't caught on. Where are those developers "who have been hoping for a pure open source embedded Linux toolkit"? Is the source on standard linux not open enough? Isn't the standard linux kernel licensed under the GNU GPL, which is as close as you can get in software licenses to the principles of Marx's communist manifesto? No, open source isn't what developers want, its quality and performance, and linux still hasn't caught on. Indeed, most recent improvements to linux are focused on the opposite end of the spectrum, enabling higher performance on large, multiprocessor servers (of course, linux has yet to catch up in this area to such time-tested operating systems as OpenVMS and OS/390, but at least they are trying to catch up). Its well known that much of these changes result in a larger footprint, as well as lower performance on systems with fewer resources, like almost any embedded platform.
Anyone who is really into embedded design these days is looking at the alternatives. Microsoft Windows CE was built from the ground up to run on embedded hardware. With their innovative Shared Source program, Microsoft has brought most of the alleged advantages of Linux's licensing policy to Windows CE developers, without eliminating the profit motive through viral licensing clauses OR giving their intellectual property away scott-free to competitors. With Windows CE, you get Microsoft's industry-leading Visual Studio development tools, and support for the