McObject announced that its ExtremeDB in-memory database will be integrated with a developer's kit for the open-source eCos real-time operation system (RTOS). A royalty-free version of ExtremeDB will be provided as part of the eCosPro Developer's Kit from eCosCentric, which maintains the RTOS.

(Click for larger view of examples from ECosPro's C++ PEG GUI environment)

Starting next week, ExtremeDB will be bundled with the ARM9 processor versions of the eCosPro Developers Kit, and integrated with the Kit's Eclipse-based configuration tool. Other architectures will be added later in the year. McObject says the tiny database can save users from time and stability risks associated with coding data management applications from scratch in deeply embedded environments such as eCos.

McObject first announced an eCos port of ExtremeDB in August 2006. The Linux-compatible ExtremeDB maintains a code footprint as small as 50KB, enabling it to run in memory for most embedded applications, thereby improving performance compared to disk-based operation, says McObject. The database software supports transactions, concurrent access, and a high-level data definition language, according to the vendor. There's also a high-availability version that supports local or distributed replication, with automatic fail-over, and McObject recently announced a version that runs in kernel mode.

eCos offers a smaller footprint than Linux, making it more suitable for a wide range of lower-powered embedded systems with modest processing requirements. With the bundling deal, McObject can now sell support services to developers of eCos, which eCosCentric says is both “widely used” and “fast-growing.” Developed and maintained for years by Red Hat via its Cygnus acquisition, eCos has been primarily maintained by eCosCentric since all its patents were unified under the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in 2004.

ExtremeDB architecture

The eCosPro Developer's Kit provides an enhanced and tested version of the royalty-free eCos and the RedBoot bootstrap firmware, says eCosCentric. The kit is said to include a C/C++ compiler toolset, Eclipse-based IDE, standards-based APIs, libraries, filesystems, networking, communications, and “extensive” device support. There are also optional packages such as Swell Software's C++ API variant of the PEG (Portable Embedded GUI) graphical interface environment (pictured at top). The kit is available for a wide range of architectures, processors, and platforms, says the company.

Stated eCosCentric Chairman Paul Beskeen “Database algorithms are notoriously difficult to code, and increasingly vital in today's data-intensive embedded systems.”

Availability

The eCosPro Developer's Kit with the integrated version of ExtremeDB is available now for versions that support ARM9 processors, with additional support to be announced later in the year. More information on the eCosPro Developer's Kit may be available here, and more on ExtremeDB may be found on this McObject page or on this eCosCentric page.

Both companies will be exhibiting at next week's Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) Silicon Valley in San Jose, with McObject in booth 839 and eCosCentric in booth 3012.

---

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.