In light to the announcement of Qt Phone Edition running on top of Linux, here is some related news: The new issue of LinuxGazette is discussing Linux as an embedded RTOS: “A real-time operating system (RTOS) [1] is an operating system capable of guaranteeing timing requirements of the processes under its control. While a time-sharing OS like UNIX strives to provide good average performance, for a RTOS, correct timing is the key feature.”
Linux as a RTOS
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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Who is “Linus Travaldo”? And what version of Linux was this guy learning about in the “late 80s”? Sorry, but those two snippets alone kind of stopped me from reading this article. It doesn’t sound like he actually knows enough about modern Linux to comment.
Also, he might be interested to know that Linux 2.6 is now pre-emptible, and that there are high-resolution timer patches available from George Anzinger at Montavista. I’m not saying that Linux is now the dream RTOS – ie probably isn’t – but this article really isn’t helpful!
Favorite quote: “Linux operating system which started as a student project by Linus Travaldo gained momentum.in in late 80s is now a complete operating system meeting requirements of nearly all type of users.” Travaldo and the 80’s 😉
The article is somewhat light on details and does not discuss the available Linux-RT solutions (Montavista, TimeSys, …). It’s just a recap of the usual RT approaches, nothing new (and arguably outdated, labelling Microkernels such as QNX as slow).
Will the low-level drivers and software still be closed-source as in the Motorola A760? Can we rebuild and rewrite it as we see fit? Or will these phones just end up as the “black boxes” they are today but with Linux somewhere inside just to attract the buzzword-loving geek masses?
Would be kinda pointless having Linux on a phone without being able to hack it.
There are pros and cons to this.
Pros: I like the fact that there is one more choice out there for smartphones so now symbian (UIQ, Series 60, 90 and 92xx, palm, as well as linux can go head to head with M$ on this and the consumer will have more options. Another thing I like is compatibility with linux and OS X in terms of sync
COns: LInux complexity!!! When I installed linux on my ipaq, when I wanted to install apps on my ipaq linux device there were SO MANY dependencies that I had to install prior to installing the app that I actually wanted to install. I seriously hope that they have worked this out because it seriously is a pain in the buns
there are pros and cons to this
Pros:
*Can sync with linux and mac as well as windows*More option for the consumers in addition to M$-phone, Palm-phone and symbian (UIQ, Series 60, Series 90, 9xxx series)
*International support of linux
* New devices….I would like one of those motorola A760s
hehehe
Cons
*When I installed linux in my pocketPC, it took FOREVER to install new apps, especially utility apps because of the MANY depenedencies that had to be installed prior to installing that utility app (something I HATE about linux). I hope that they worked this out cause its gonna make people go nuts!
Correct me if I’m wrong but is’nt Linux, as a timesharing OS (UNIX clone), unfit by design to be deployed for RT applications?
Wouldn’t you need to rip out the whole scheduling system and re-design it?
Linus Travaldo? I’m sorry but I had to stop reading right there. Is is that hard to get his name right? It’s the kind of name that most people would copy down (it’s not like Smith that you can just remember it and spell it easily).Let’s keep reading.
“…gained momentum in late 80s…”
OK, the first version of the kernel (0.01) is copyright 1991 by Linus (I just checked). Linux didn’t exist in the 80s, so how did it gain momentum? A mistake like that really makes it hard to keep reading, because I don’t even want to KNOW what kind of other errors there are.
Sheesh.
Linux operating system which started as a student project by “Linus Travaldo” gained momentum.in in “late 80s” is now a complete operating system.
Okay, who wrote this? I can’t believe that, with all the Linux hype of the last several years that anyone in computing could
get Linus’ family name so wrong. And, he’s a few years off on Linux’s birthdate.
This guy is a computer engineer? Good grief!! If he actually has a job, I’ll be really embarrased. I’ve written better stuff in high school over breakfast in the cafeteria.
About the only thing of value in the article is the list of
references at the end.
ever occur that names are written and spelt differently in different parts of the world, Nicholas Copernicus’s name in his native polish was Nikolaus Kopernic, and Galen in latin his name is Galenvs (in latin V is pronounces U) so it may just b a regional variation same as John in english is Jean in french, Andrew in english, and german but in french and spanish it is Andre.
“This guy is a computer engineer? Good grief!! If he actually has a job, I’ll be really embarrased. I’ve written better stuff in high school over breakfast in the cafeteria. ”
occur to you that he may find writting hard, or that his native language isnt english?
“Linux operating system which started as a student project by Linus Travaldo gained momentum.in in late 80s is now a complete operating system meeting requirements of nearly all type of users.”
1. His name is clearly Torvalds.
2. He didn’t start working on Linux until 1991 – maybe some concept work in 1990, but definitely not in the “late 80s”.
3. Linux is not an operating system. It’s a kernel. For it to be an operating system, it would have to include a personality, which it does not (unlike GNU/Linux). For comparison, Darwin is not a kernel, it’s an operating system. It includes a personality that is mostly derived off FreeBSD (5.0 now), and a kernel of the name “XNU” which is mostly derived off Mach 3.0.
“Linux is not an operating system. It’s a kernel. For it to be an operating system, it would have to include a personality, which it does not”
The problem is that almost everyone uses “Linux” to refer to complete distributions. This is because a single name is needed, equivalent to “Windows”.
“GNU/Linux” is no good because you can’t speak it.
What do you mean by a “personality”? Linus is a personality, but I don’t think he is an operating system. If you want words to be used correctly, don’t hijack common English words for some weird purpose of your own.
I realize that Linux-based operating systems are commonly being referred to as “Linux”. That, however, is a colloquialism and technically incorrect.
“Personality” is another name for “userland” and has nothing to do with human beings.
Since, you do such a fabulous job of covering generic and hobby OSes I’d really like to see coverage of embedded and RTOSes as well.
How about VxWorks from WindRiver or Integrity from Green Hills Software?
Just a thought…
http://www.linuxdevices.com
Are you all really that easily distracted? This was a perfectly informative article, with tons of information (if you bother to read it). Yet everyone stops (or only notices) as soon as they see a few mistakes (open to interpretation anyway) at the beginning. Grow up.
>>Nicholas Copernicus’s name in his native polish was Nikolaus Kopernic
Erm, all the examples you’ve given date from centuries ago. Can you find something a bit more recent? For the record, I speak French, understand a bit of Spanish and German so I’m well aware of the variations in names. But that doesn’t mean that you can just change someone’s name to something more familiar.
Would it have been acceptable to refer to Bill Gates as Guillermo Gaetano?
>>occur to you that he may find writting hard, or that his native language isnt english?
I don’t have an issue with him not being an English speaker – neither is Linus. But I do take issue with the quality of his writing. This level of research and presentation would barely be acceptable coming from a 14 year old.
I won’t apologize for expecting more from a computer engineer on a tech website. I don’t know if the articles are reviewed in advance on Linuxgazette but they should be if not, or a better editor is needed if they are.
I operate several different computer-controlled high-speed tablet presses at a vitamin and nutritional supplement company. There are three different types of presses, two run Windows NT, two run OS/2, and three run OS/9. The ones that run OS/9 are the only ones that can show individual much forces in real-time. I’m not real familiar with OS/9, but it seems to be unix-like, and is limited to machine use. It has a rather unattractive GUI, and the hardware is painfully slow.
Does anyone here know of a good Linux-based Tablet PC? What distro does it use? What apps does it come with?
I’m not a fan of notebook PCs, and palm’s seem too limited. Is there a decent handwriting recognition software for it?
What types of Linux applications will run on a Tablet PC?
thanks.