eCos vs. uClinux- Which is best for your embedded target

jerryyang

Do
you need or want a freely available, royalty free embeddable operating system
for your next project? Is support important to you? Is wide-spread developer
experience important to you? Are you looking for something that you can
productize or just use to become familiar with the embedded world? These and
many more questions are typically asked by designers and business people
interested in free software.



Both <a href="http://www.linuxdevices.com/products/PD5118427896.html" target="_blank" >eCos</a> and <a href="http://www.linuxdevices.com/links/LK8053710489.html" target="_blank" >uClinux</a>
offer freely available, royalty free downloads from public cvs sites. Neither
offers an exhaustive range of existing board support packages, though,
curiously enough, both seem to offer about the same type and number of BSPs.
Adding support for a new board is relatively easily accomplished with
uClinux--given prior Linux kernel development experience and familiarity with
the tools and assuming that the GNU Compiler Collection already supports your
target microprocessor. Adding support for a new board under eCos, from the
perspective of this Linux person, is a bit more of a learning curve, but not
difficult once the process is underway. Again, GCC support for your micro is
required.