The Embedded Linux Consortium has published a pair of reviews of Embedded Linux, a book by Craig Hollabaugh. The two reviews, one by Joel Williams and the other by Dr. Ian McLoughlin, are contained in a downloadable PDF file.

Williams writes . . .

“Developing Embedded Linux systems is becoming easier all the time. My first experience, back in 1996 took four months to get Linux up and running on a non-PC x86 embedded system. Today, 4 days can be seem long.”

“Craig Hollabaugh's book 'Embedded Linux' shows you just how easy it can be. It takes you through the process of building an embedded Linux system. It covers the development basics of tools, booting, and debugging of a system. It then goes on to show how to solve common I/O interfacing and finishes up with an interesting mix of integrating applications including as web servers and MYSQL. All of this is done through the metaphor of diary of the development project. It is replete with sample code (available for download) . . .”

“If you are a Linux developer newbie, this is a great place to start. There are step-by-step cookbooks that provide a good insight to how to use tools and software. The detailed examples may not be applicable to your development, but the bag of tricks Hollabaugh uses and his approaches to dealing with common development issues are extremely valuable for the new developer. This book may be all you need to get started developing your embedded system. Then again, maybe not. Let me explain . . .”

McLoughlin writes . . .

“Reading this book is like taking a ride down one of Project Trailblazers lower ski slopes. The going is gentle and smooth at first but soon gathers pace – you don't lose control, but at the bottom you turn around and are amazed at the territory you covered. The gentle start includes the obligatory introductions and top-level design before moving on to system design considerations.”

“These preliminary chapters are no longer than necessary, but contain some no-nonsense information. In particular the 'Implications of Open Source' section covers legal aspects of the GPL and LGPL that many engineers would benefit from in discussions with management.”

“Luckily for us the Silverjack engineers could not agree in Chapter 2 on a single development platform, hence the StrongARM, x86 and PowerPC. These three threads are carried through the book, with every subsequent topic covered for each of the target architectures. There is also a wealth of background information on the platforms distributed throughout the book . . .”

Download PDF file

Another review, by LinuxDevices.com Technical Editor Jerry Epplin, is available here.

 
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