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ELC Releases Embedded Linux Standard v1.0

Posted by michael on from the nice-and-hefty dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Embedded Linux Consortium (ELC) formally announced its release of the ELC Platform Specification (ELCPS) version 1.0 this week. This LinuxDevices.com Special Report includes the full text of the ELC's announcement, a whitepaper about the ELCPS standard, a newly updated "frequently asked questions" document, a roundup of news coverage, a poll, a discussion thread, and the spec itself."

9 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. embedded Linux of limited usefulness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Embedded Linux vendors are making the same mistake that Sun made with embedded Java: many embedded devices are either very inexpensive or have to meet hard real time deadlines. Both of those factors make embedded Linux impractical.

    Really cheap devices go for small, older, cheaper processors and memories that can't support the relatively high processing capabilities required for Linux systems. For a hundred dollar VCR, Linux is great, but not for a twenty dollar mixmaster.

    Many industrial facilities use great numbers of embedded devices. Linux just can not meet the hard real time deadlines required. Even with the low latency and kernel preemtibility patches, Linux doesn't have the granularity necessary to ensure that hard deadlines are met. There are a couple of kludges around that allow Linux to be used on such devices, such as running virtual machines with Linux and a true real time OS and making them communicate via sockets. Sadly proprietary solutions currently fare much better. Mobile telephones also fit in this category; although expensive ones may eventually run Linux and something else, they won't run only Linux.

    With all the difficulties facing them, I can't help but wonder why the embedded Linux people bother. They would be better off writing a new OS that had lighter requirements and a design to allow it to meet hard real time deadlines. That would be a big step forward for putting the GPL in embedded platforms.

    1. Re:embedded Linux of limited usefulness by dreamchaser · · Score: 3, Interesting

      While you have some very good points, one must keep in mind the still staggering rate of performance increases in lightweight and embedded processors. No, you probably won't be able to build a $20 device that can run Embedded Linux on it effectively today, but what about next year? Or the year after that? Wouldn't it be better to have an established standard when such devices start becoming ubiquitous?

    2. Re:embedded Linux of limited usefulness by swordboy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      While you have some very good points, one must keep in mind the still staggering rate of performance increases in lightweight and embedded processors.

      Witness the proliferation ofcheap PDAs.

      The other day, I was looking into obtaining some hardware that I wanted to use in my own embedded experiments but I could not find anything that was cheap enough (read: to be profitable if I ever decided to bring my low-volume application to market). The PDA brings an interesting twist to that.

      Is there any PDA that lends itself to being hacked apart and used in something other than its intended use? The other day, I was at Lowes and I saw that their alarm system had the screen about the size of a PDA. A closer look revealed that it was running PalmOS.

      Bueller?

      --

      Life is the leading cause of death in America.
  2. A chance to compete in an emerging market by LordMazza · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Although I have some doubts about the suitability of Linux for certain types of embedded applications (where real-time OSes would probably be more appropriate), I think this is a good thing. Anything the Linux community can do to push Linux into new markets not already dominated by one company's product alone can only be beneficial. Unlike the PC market, there is no pre-existing "applications barrier to entry" into the embedded application market. The more Linux and other open software is used in any market, IMO the more it will be used in every market. Anything the community can do to foster the adoption of Linux on as many platforms as we can think of is beneficial.

  3. This spec is a good thing! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The ELC did good work here. They have
    produced a simple range of embedded subsets of the
    LSB, and carefully avoided inventing anything
    of their own beyond a way to query for what
    features are available. As a developer of
    embedded Linux systems, I think the ELC's
    standard is very good work -- suprisingly,
    this is an example of a vendor consortium
    that did exactly the right thing, engineering-wise.
    - Dan Kegel
    www.kegel.com

  4. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    It's being adopted.

  5. Ahh... by cybermace5 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is nice. While Linux just isn't ideal for applications requiring stringent realtime control, it's great to have some order brought to the chaos.

    A large amount of new silicon is hitting the market; the line between microcontrollers and computers keeps blurring. Some of these chips (mostly intended for the cell phone industry) run over 350MHz, include large amounts of memory, flash, and peripherals. Linux is an excellent way to manage all of that power, and ease the transfer of applications into embedded devices.

    You will have that communicator/computer you want: has all the power you need, projects onto your eye or a wall, responds to speech input, has excessive bandwidth, captures video, etc. It's within my lifetime. And with the help of some standards like these, perhaps it will run some variant of Linux. You never know.

    --
    ...
  6. The importance of Embedded linux by ftvcs · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Here is a chart of what vendors think is important when choosing an embedded OS.
    Linux already satisfies the four most popular criteria: Real Time capabilities, royalty free licensing, it runs on a variety of CPUs and it provides access to source code.

    No wonder Motorola choose for the linux solution.

  7. Is the specification available in a free format? by John_Sauter · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The web site offers the specification as a PDF file, but states that it is covered by the GNU Free Documentation License. That license, reproduced in Section 9, states that the document may be redistributed provided it is editable using free tools, or is accompanied by such a version, or such a version is offered on the Web. If the consortuim offers the document only as a PDF they deny the freedom they claim to offer.
    John Sauter (J_Sauter@Empire.Net)