This online feature article from EDN magazine examines how Linux has captured the attention of embedded system developers worldwide. Technical editor Warren Webb writes . . .

“Linux is no longer just the open-source operating system that you must download, modify, troubleshoot, and maintain yourself for your embedded application. In fact, commercial Linux support is appearing throughout the embedded industry. Vendors of bus modules and single-board computers now offer Linux preconfigured with their products. Silicon vendors are releasing new microprocessors with Linux configurations available. And software vendors maintain and support more than a dozen off-the-shelf Linux distributions as commercial products for embedded applications . . .”

” . . . The Linux operating system has jumped squarely into the embedded-device world. Applications exist in entertainment, industrial control, networked appliances, military, and communications, and more are on the way. Development teams requiring complex user interfaces or network connections have led the way, but even the smallest projects have discovered the advantages of an open-source, royalty-free operating system. If you choose Linux for your next project, you can take advantage of millions of lines of free software on the Internet and tackle the job yourself, or you can contract with a commercial Linux vendor, which will provide custom software and support throughout your development project. Either way, Linux is tightening its grasp on the embedded market.”

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