LinuxDevices.com is pleased to announce publication of the latest two members of its highly popular online Embedded Linux Quick Reference Guide series . . .

• The Embedded Linux Overview Quick Reference Guide — includes an introduction to Embedded Linux including a discussion of the features and benefits of using it,… an index to the other sections of LinuxDevices.com's Embedded Linux Quick Reference Guide series, and a reading list of recommended articles and whitepapers.

• The Embedded Linux Distributions Quick Reference Guide — a catalog of distributions and implementations of the Linux kernel and associated system software components that are tailored to fit the limited resources and other constraints of a wide range of intelligent devices and embedded systems.

Here is an excerpt from the introduction to The Embedded Linux Overview Quick Reference Guide . . .

“The power, reliability, flexibility, and scalability of Linux, combined with its support for a multitude of microprocessor architectures, hardware devices, graphics support, and communications protocols have established Linux as an increasingly popular software platform for a vast array of projects and products. Use of Linux spans the full spectrum of computing applications, from IBM's tiny Linux wrist watch, to hand-held devices (including PDAs and cell phones), to Internet appliances, thin clients, firewalls, industrial robotics, telephony infrastructure equipment, . . . and even to cluster-based supercomputers.”

“Because Linux is openly and freely available in source form, many variations and configurations of Linux and its supporting software components have evolved to meet the diverse needs of the markets and applications to which Linux is being adapted. There are small-footprint versions and real-time enhanced versions. And despite the origins of Linux as a PC architecture operating system, there are now ports to numerous non-x86 CPUs, with and without memory management units, including PowerPC, ARM, MIPS, 68K, and even microcontrollers. And there's more coming, all the time!”

“One of the most interesting qualities of embedded Linux, then, is the abundance of choice. Even within a given architecture, such as x86, MIPS, or PowerPC, there are likely to be a wide range of choices. So, how do you decide which distribution to use?”

Read the guide

 
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