This third installment of Simtec's tutorial series on embedded Linux system development covers the construction of a web browser for a web kiosk system. The tutorial was written by ARM Linux kernel hackers Vincent Sanders and Daniel Silverstone (pictured), both from UK-based embedded firm Simtec… Electronics.

Part One of the series walked new Linux developers through the construction of a simple embedded Linux system. Part Two explained how to construct a simple web server with a command shell on the console. Part Three brings techniques learned about using a command shell on the serial console to the development of a web browser for a kiosk system.

Major steps involved in the tutorial include:

• Working with source files — Moving from binary-only development to working from source — and all the complexity of dealing with additional kernel driver modules
• Choosing a web browser — Selecting a small-footprint browser (Neturf) that outputs directly to the Linux framebuffer, reducing development complexity and eliminating the need for a large toolkit and graphics library
• Building the browser — Building a NetSurf browser from the project's Subversion repository
• Developing a configuration script — Modifying the mkbusyfs.sh script from the web server example in Part Two, and testing with QEMU
• Testing the browser — Testing the browser on a Lenovo ThinkPad T61

The new web server tutorial is available here:

 
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