Use of Linux in Embedded Systems

Modern Education | May 8, 2018 | admin

Use of Linux in Embedded:

Linux as a free software, get a great deal of development, embedded systems and Linux combination is increasingly being optimistic. Linux has its own set of the toolchain, easy to create your own embedded system development environment and cross-operating environment, and embedded system development across the simulation tools obstacles. Linux kernel has a small, high efficiency, open source.

Linux device drivers can be either built into the kernel itself or can be built as modules. When built into the kernel, the device driver is always loaded and ready to be used. If built as a module, the device driver will have to be installed before attempting to use the device. This can be done automatically using scripts, manually from the command line, or the kernel can automatically load modules as needed.

Embedded Linux is increasingly popular Linux operating system modified so that it can be cut in the embedded computer system running an embedded Linux operating system on the Internet not only inherited the unlimited resources but also has embedded the open source operating system characteristics.

Advantages of Linux as an embedded system:

Linux can be applied to a variety of hardware platforms. Linux uses a unified framework to manage the hardware, from one hardware platform to another hardware platform changes and the upper application-independent.

Linux can be freely configured, does not require any license or business relationship, the source code is freely available. This makes the use of Linux as the operating system does not have any copyright disputes, which will save a lot of development costs.

Linux is similar to kernel-based, with full memory access control, supports a large number of hardware and other characteristics of a common operating system. All of its open source programs, anyone can modify and GUN General Public License issued under. In this way, developers can customize the operating system to meet their special needs.

Linux users are familiar with the complete development tools, almost all Unix systems applications have been ported to Linux. Linux also provides a powerful networking feature, a variety of optional window manager (X Windows).

The Linux powerful language compiler GCC, C++, etc. can also be very easy to get, not only sophisticated but easy to use.

The advantages of embedded Linux over embedded operating systems include multiple suppliers for software, development, and support; no royalties or licensing fees; a stable kernel; the ability to read, modify and redistribute the source code. The disadvantages are a comparatively large memory footprint complexities of user mode and kernel mode memory access.

Now let’s see in which all embedded system linux is used.

Nspire CAS CX Calculator: this is a simple calculator yet powerful. It is an ARM-based graph calculator that is powered by Linux.

Linux has proved itself to be a more stable operating environment; its functions are stable enough that seldom does one encounter screen freezes, repeated boot-ups, etc.

the Linux OS handles different functions through the kernel in a different way compared to Windows. This creates a faster system that is even closer to UNIX (it actual parent system).