How Do You Manage a Product Based on Linux?

Ryan writes "Following my advice, my company has decided to base it's new appliance on Linux. So far, it's worked out great. Linux gave us a huge jumpstart on development because of it's open nature and the information we've garnered from public mailing lists. We've added software, modified startup files, and have built our own kernel. Now the question is: How do you manage it all? Do you put it all in CVS or Subversion? Do you use the distro's packaging system (we're using Debian)? What does your build system look like?"

Comments

If this is really the question

[Anonymous MadCoe]

You really should be stopping and look at what you are doing. How you want to manage it should be part of the strategy, and actually should have been part of deciding to use Linux (not in detail, but strategically).

So my advice, hold on, sit down and look at what you expect to produce and what you would need to get there. From there you can find out what you would need.

You will probably run into some issues, but that's just what happens, there is no ideal situation.

I don't understand the question

[Anonymous Coward]

You're building a whole new appliance, but your software engineers don't know how to manage a development process?

I mean... I'm not being nasty here, but you're in trouble, and I don't even know where anybody could start to give you advice. It would be one thing if you were looking for guidance on a regular small scale software project, but if you're jumping in feet first with a whole new large scale application and no idea how to guide the process...

Re:Now that's Insightful

[torpor]

What part of "How do You Manage a Product Based on Linux?" do you not understand?

He's not asking for help .. he's interested in the ways /.'ers are maintaining their linux-based products, perhaps (naively) hoping that the peanut gallery might provide an interesting result. This does not necessarily mean he wants help with his lame system; read closely, and you might realize that Ryan seems quite happy with his approach so far .. but this is still an interesting topic worth objective attention. Its not a screaming/crying/spoiled-brat cry for help that some of the similarly inclined responses have implied, anyway ..

Me, I've been building linux-based systems for my own use since the days of the minix-list (and before that, RISCOS distimages). My current approach is quite simple, old-fashioned, but workable nevertheless. I simply apply the following general guide-lines for sysbuilding: complete source-control (using SVN/whatever-the-package-maintainer-uses), avoid cross-compiling, build everything on-board, one Makefile to tie together whatever components are required (linux-kernel/base-image/sysbins/libs/my_app), 'cscope -R' at the root tree when something needs to be worked out, and set it all up so that you can just type 'make' and watch the bootable .img form .. Fortunately the more you do this, the less you need to worry about package maintenance, but of course if the 'final deliverable' is a simple, plain sysimage containing all software onboard required for your embedded app, then package maintenance isn't such an issue. Its kind of fun to have a "single-image deliverable" too ..