I am looking for "Linux life cycle", anybody have an idea

On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 17:10:04 -0800, GS

Basically, it depends on what you want...

As mentioned, trolltech.com makes one popular toolkit (qt). But also check out sharp zaurus; they have a linux based PDA with all of the sourcs available. The zaurus stuff is qt based.

There are also non-commercial projects; qpe is one. There are smaller projects; minigui, microwindows-nanox, fltk, kdrive, .... Lots out there.

But ultimately "embedded linux" is a roll-your-own thing. It depends on your tools, your needs, and your market.

I'm working on a platform that will have a life cycle of 10-15 years. That's ancient history in the computer world, but such is our market. Not only that, but we need full i18n, networking support, etc.

Others just need a toaster....

So what are your needs?

As for tools, again, there are lots and lots of tools, but you have to build your own.... For example, there are cross-toolchains available. But what works for you may not work for me...

For a brief synopsis of some of the issues you may run across, see my wiki little paragraph represents about 6 calendar weeks of building cross tool chains, kernels, tools, and testing, in between trying to get everything else done.... YMMV - this is for one particular kernel version.

Be prepard to delve into the world of poorly documented compiler options, obscure tools, and most importantly, a stock of live chickens and sheep for sacrifice to the computer gods.... Ultimately, laying freshly dissolutioned sheep guts on your keyboard and spilling sacrificial wine may be the only way to get your stuff to compile, fit into onboard flash, and most importanly, make the sales guys happy - although I've often considered that dissolutioning one of the sales guys for sacrifice may be a quicker way to gain their approval.... :-)