Posted Nov 21, 2011, by Colin Walls
Somebody asked me: “What is the plural of Linux?” Maybe it is Linuxes. That sounds a bit messy, which seems rather appropriate really…
If we think about the desktop world and buying application software, you might have a Windows PC or a Mac or perhaps you run Linux. It is typical for the spec for an application to discuss hardware and OS compatibility. There will normally be ridiculously … Read More
Tags:
Linux,
Nucleus,
Embedded Software,
RTOS,
Nucleus OS,
Open Source
Posted Oct 24, 2011, by Colin Walls
I was, of course, saddened to hear the recent news of the death of Steve Jobs. Since then, the Internet has been buzzing with stories, anecdotes and speculation about him. As a result, the news of the death of another key figure in the computing world barely got a mention: Dennis Ritchie died on 12 October 2011. Although not so much of a household name as Jobs, there are many [including myself] who … Read More
Tags:
Dennis Ritchie,
Embedded Software,
C,
Steve Jobs,
Linux,
Programming Languages
Posted Sep 19, 2011, by Colin Walls
For a software developer, the idea of a library is quite simple: It is a file containing a [typically large] number of functions/procedures/subroutines in a special format. At link time, the linker looks in the library [or there may well be more than one, in which case it checks each in turn] to resolve any references to functions not satisfied by the supplied object modules. This means that the programmer … Read More
Tags:
Development Tools,
Embedded Software,
C,
Programming Languages,
libraries,
Linux
Posted Aug 23, 2011, by Colin Walls
Just a quick “heads up”. If you are interested in the selection of an operating system for embedded applications [a topic I discussed briefly here] you might like to attend a Web seminar that I am presenting later this week. The session will be less than one hour, including live Q&A. The live session will be on Thursday at 9:00 Pacific and an archive recording will be available after … Read More
Tags:
Linux,
multi-core,
Embedded Software,
Nucleus OS,
RTOS,
Multi-OS,
Nucleus
Posted Aug 15, 2011, by Colin Walls
All my working life, I have had a challenge with explaining to people what I actually do. It all starts with defining what is an embedded system. As I have discussed before, this is by no means easy. I thought that this might become simpler over time, as embedded systems become even more ubiquitous, but the reverse is true. The definition is getting even fuzzier.
It has reached a point where software … Read More
Tags:
Embedded Software,
Nucleus OS,
RTOS,
Linux
Posted Jun 20, 2011, by Colin Walls
I recently talked about the process that might be applied to the selection of an embedded operating system and I hope that these guidelines are useful. I am currently working on a Web seminar on this topic, so I would welcome any input. However, developers tend to stick with a particular OS [or, at least, with a particular OS vendor] – recent research suggested that only about 20% of developers … Read More
Tags:
Embedded Software,
Linux,
API,
RTOS,
Nucleus,
Nucleus OS
Posted Apr 18, 2011, by Colin Walls
I was recently approached for help by a Mentor Graphics customer, who was planning a new project and needed to select an operating system. They wanted guidance with that choice. Of course, one is tempted to say that it does not matter which of our products they chose [as, between them, Nucleus RTOS and Mentor Embedded Linux do cover most possibilities], but I felt they needed something more objective.
There … Read More
Tags:
Windows CE,
Source Code,
Linux,
Low Power,
Embedded Software,
Nucleus OS,
RTOS,
Networking,
Nucleus
Posted Mar 30, 2011, by Hollis Blanchard
Mentor recently shared OpenMCAPI, our MCAPI implementation, with the world under an open source license (BSD). We’re proud of it because it was especially designed for portability, and while it’s sophisticated enough to offer advanced features like asynchronous communication, it’s simple enough that it can be easily understood and deployed on low-resource embedded systems.
So what … Read More
Tags:
Open Source,
Multi-OS,
MCAPI,
Embedded Software,
Multicore,
AMP,
Linux
Posted Dec 6, 2010, by Colin Walls
Some time ago, I wrote about the use of a memory management unit (MMU) for embedded applications and covered the basics of what such a device can do. Recent comment on that posting inspired me to think more about how an MMU may be used more creatively.
The basic function of an MMU is to control a relationship between the addresses that a CPU uses to access specific memory areas and their actual physical … Read More
Tags:
Linux,
memory management unit,
Embedded Software,
RTOS,
MMU,
Nucleus
Posted Sep 6, 2010, by Colin Walls
I like simple things. Excessive complexity tends to annoy me. When I first started working with computers, I thought that mainframes were overly complicated, so I was pleased to discover minicomputers, where I could really understand exactly what was going on. Embedded software was a natural progression, as, again, I could grasp the entire functionality of the software. But that began to change, as … Read More
Tags:
Embedded Software,
Linux,
Android,
Nucleus,
RTOS