Posts tagged with 'Linux'
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
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
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
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
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
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
Windows CE, Source Code, Linux, Low Power, RTOS, Networking, Nucleus
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
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
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
I have pondered before the appropriateness of Linux for embedded applications. My initial stance was clear enough: I could see very little sense in it. Why use a desktop operating system in such a completely different context? Over the years, the popularity of embedded Linux has increased, the technology of embedded systems has moved on and I have reappraised my views accordingly. With Mentor Embedded … Read More
I have always for medical electronics interesting and I have blogged about it from time to time [here and here, for example]. Part of the reason for my interest stems from an occasional feeling that so much of the electronics around me is ultimately pointless. Many Mentor Embedded customers are making consumer devices, cell phones and other gadgets. Do we really need all of these? Aren’t they really … Read More
Android, User Interface, Linux, Networking, Inflexion UI, Low Power, Nucleus, Multicore, Medical, RTOS
It is becoming common for embedded designs to incorporate more than one CPU - maybe multiple cores on a chip or multiple chips on a board or any combination of these. Indeed, it has been suggested that it will soon be the norm to build systems that way.
The use of multiple cores has spawned various technologies and, of course, much terminology and jargon. When new technical terms and acronyms appear, … Read More
On a previous occasion, I talked about using an MMU [memory management unit] for a specific, slight esoteric purpose. I thought it might be interesting to consider its more conventional use. Also, it is worth remembering that some devices have no MMU support and many systems are built without one anyway. Having met some engineers recently, who could not conceive of the idea of no MMU, clarification … Read More
Power consumption is an issue. With portable devices this affects battery life. [I am irritated by the short intervals between necessary charging sessions with my phone. On the other hand, my netbook can run for over 7 hours on a charge, which is great. Likewise, my newly-acquired iPad seems to perform well.] With mains powered equipment, power consumption is also a concern for environmental reasons.
The … Read More
I recently wrote about a “multi-core” development project that I worked on many years ago, including some details of how we managed communication between the CPUs. Things have moved on a lot since those days and multi-core is now rapidly becoming the norm in embedded designs. It is, therefore, unsurprising that a degree of standardization is being established.
Specifically, the Multicore Association … Read More