Choosing the right hardware for an embedded Linux device is so much more important than your software choices. Making the wrong decision can lead to significant costs and disruptions if you have to change hardware mid-development. Read this blog first before you solidify your choice. Custom or commercial? Choosing between a custom or commercially available […]
Creating applications for cross-platform compatibility is a modern best practice. It increases deployment flexibility and allows applications to reach a wider audience. However, doing it properly can involve some trial and error. At KDAB, we’ve built many multiplatform desktop applications. Here, we’ve compiled a few insights from that process to help you build better software. […]
Building system images for embedded devices from the ground up is a very complex process, that involves many different kinds of requirements for the build tooling around it. Traditionally, the most popular build systems used in this context are the Yocto project and buildroot. These build systems make it easy to set up toolchains for […]
Developing embedded software is notoriously difficult – how can we simplify the process? Fortunately, there are lots of techniques you can use daily to help streamline your development. Embracing Automation The specialized nature of embedded systems extends the ramp-up time for developers and necessitates a higher level of expertise. Automating hardware-specific tasks, such as deploying […]
In today’s pervasively digital landscape, building software for a single platform is a 1990s approach. Modern applications, even those designed for specific embedded targets, must be adaptable enough to run seamlessly across various platforms without sacrificing efficiency or reliability. This is often easier said than done. Here are some key points to consider when developing […]
The robustness of Linux is widely acknowledged, but it can't quite match the microsecond management of a real-time operating system (RTOS) for time critical situations such as CNC machine instructions, vehicular control, or health sensor collection. If your software must record, manage, or control events within a narrow and precise time window and you’re invested […]
Choosing the right system-on-chip (SoC) is probably your first consideration when designing an embedded product, followed closely by deciding whether to use an off-the-shelf board or design your own. The case for commercial boards in initial designs For the first product in a new line, consider using a commercially available board that features your chosen […]
When designing an embedded product, there’s a lot riding on those crucial first decisions of choosing a hardware vendor and board. Clearly, the hardware you select must be powerful enough to support your product, a challenging determination given that software is usually still in the planning stages at this point in the process. Plus, planning […]
Given a strictly positive integer i, this code will calculate i+1 "equally spaced" values between 1 and 0: If you're looking for a trap, this does actually work for any i > 0. One can verify it experimentally; run the code with i from 1 to INT_MAX. For simplicity, just consider the case j = […]
Wayland is a display protocol, a protocol (and accompanying C library) spoken by a graphical application with a display server in order to communicate about both input to the application (keyboard, mouse, ...) and about output from the application -- that is, the rendered window. Wayland was developed to replace the X11 server on the […]
Close to three months after the initial hotspot release, I'm happy to announce the release of version 1.1.0. Quick recap: Hotspot is a graphical frontend to the Linux perf profiler suite. It allows you to visually analyze perf.data files with the built-in Flame Graph and the Bottom-Up, Top-Down, or Caller-Callee data tables. It is a […]
After many months of work, I'm very pleased to finally announce KDAB's latest R&D project to the public: hotspot - a GUI for the Linux perf profiler. I have used Linux perf a lot over the past years. It is an extremely powerful and useful tool. But its complexity makes it very hard to use. […]
The first module in a whitepaper series on designing your first embedded device; it covers the beginning and ending of the product development process. At the onset of a new project are a handful of critical choices that shape and constrain every other decision down the line. Similar “up front” decisions around your expected customer experience influence your ability to update or change your product after it’s already in the customer’s hands. These decisions frame the entire development process.
The most challenging decision you’ll make when creating your first embedded Linux device is about the hardware. While you can do a software upgrade mid-development without massive disruption, making changes in hardware development comes at a much higher cost. So, you must make some critical decisions upfront about which CPU, board, and peripherals you want to use in your embedded Linux device. This whitepaper examines the numerous planning considerations that go into choosing hardware to help you expedite your development process.
Deciding on the various software components in your stack is a crucial step when creating your first embedded Linux device. You want to build a stack that meets your objectives now and brings continued value in the future. However, there are so many tools you can combine to build and maintain a successful product it can be challenging to know where to start.
This whitepaper examines your choices for the entire software stack, from the OS to the application, and gives you things to consider at every step.
Before creating your first embedded Linux device, you need to determine how you want to build your software. After all, the tools and development processes for embedded Linux may be quite different from what you’re used to with smaller microcontroller-based or bare-metal systems. If you want a well-designed, easy-to-maintain, and cost-effective solution, take the time to research your options and keep in mind the following key considerations.
