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When I got started in embedded Linux nearly a decade ago, the question was, “Should I even use an operating system?” Going with Linux frequently meant porting the operating system to run on your target hardware and building to the tools to do so. Much has changed over the years, to the point that Linux is selected by default for many projects, and the decisions revolve around what features of the operating system can be used on the project. The question today is, “How should I configure my Linux distribution?” In technology terms, this is a seismic shift in developer attitudes in a very short time frame.Linux is so pervasive in the embedded space that embedded processors and boards ship with Linux by default. Buyers simply expect that the board will boot Linux and they’ll have the tools they need for embedded development provided along with the hardware. Unlike in the early days of Linux, as a developer, you won’t be porting Linux to your board but rather configuring an already-running Linux kernel and root file system so that they suit your application.
With this background in mind, I wrote this book from the perspective of a user who is starting their project with a Linux distribution already running on the board. It may not the the distribution that eventually ships with the product, but it will likely serve as a starting point. Tasks like building the crosscompiler from scratch are documented in the book so you understand the process, but you will probably use a cross-compiler that has been provided with the board so you can concentrate on the application. However, learning how to build and configure the tools for a Linux system isn’t a wasted effort, because when you need to squeeze every bit of memory out of your system, this is an essential skill.
Furthermore, with new System on a Chip (SOC) designs, the Linux distribution that comes on the board has all the drivers necessary for the devices on the chip. Only in the rarest events is driver development necessary. This means that most engineers spend time customizing the kernel rather than building new kernel components, and the total time spent doing any sort of kernel configuration or development is a fraction of what it was in years past.
Content:-
Contents at a Glance
Contents
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: About Embedded Linux
Chapter 2: Configuring the Software Environment
Chapter 3: Target Emulation and Virtual Machines
Chapter 4: Starting Your Project
Chapter 5: Getting Linux for Your Board
Chapter 6: Creating a Linux Distribution from Scratch
Chapter 7: Booting the Board
Chapter 8: Configuring the Application Development Environment
Chapter 9: Application Development
Chapter 10: Debugging Applications
Chapter 11: Kernel Configuration and Development
Chapter 12: Real Time
Chapter 13: Using Open Source Software Projects
Chapter 14: BusyBox
Chapter 15: System Design
Chapter 16: System Tuning
Chapter 17: Deploying Applications
Chapter 18: Handling Field Updates
Author Details
"Gene Sally" got mixed-up with computers at a young age, his fascination sparked by an Apple II, with the Lemon cooling system add-on, no less. As a software professional, Gene got his first job writing make files and then moved on to more exciting (for certain values of exciting) things like accounting, insurance processing, and social services systems.
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