This article is the introduction to an exciting new LinuxDevices.com series by Jerry Epplin that will explore the history, status, alternative architectures, and future developments of Linux on PDAs and handheld devices. Epplin kicks off the series with an overview of the main features and architectures of each of these three currently available distributions: Century Software's Microwindows PDA… Operating Environment; Trolltech's Qt Palmtop Environment; and Transvirtual's PocketLinux. Epplin writes . . .

“For several years, Linux advocates have predicted that Linux will become a significant factor in the embedded market. In addition to its virtues as a full-featured modern operating system, it is inexpensive to duplicate, an especially important factor for embedded systems. Others, coming from a more traditional embedded device development background, have been more skeptical, contrasting the compactness of older, more primitive software environments like VxWorks, QNX, or Lynx, to the relative bloat of Linux.”

“Until recently, this was a sterile debate. Yes, the inclusion of mature and standards-compliant features such as networking and GUIs made Linux appropriate for high-end embedded systems. And yes, its size made it inappropriate for most low-end systems. But as some predicted when the debate began, two trends have largely removed the bloat issue as a factor in choosing Linux for embedded systems.”

“First is simply Moore's law: the RAM, ROM, flash, and processing power needed by Linux is becoming cheaper and faster at a rate faster than Linux is consuming them with added features. Second is the improvement in Linux itself. Starting as an x86-specific kernel with little modularity, Linux has progressed to be architecture independent and to have clear modularity. The 2.4 series kernel is especially well-designed, making it feasible to add or remove components to optimize for a particular embedded platform.”

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