Embedded Linux [Paperback]

John Lombardo (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 073570998X | ISBN-13: 978-0735709980 | Publication Date: July 15, 2001 | Edition: 1

Embedded Linux provides the reader the information needed to design, develop, and debug an embedded Linux appliance. It explores why Linux is a great choice for an embedded application and what to look for when choosing hardware.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

John Lombardo has written an excellent book on working with embedded devices and Linux. He's an exceptional author and a true New Riders VOICE THAT MATTERS. John's eye for detail and accuracy are amazing and it really shows in his work. His thoroughness and understanding of the topic is something you will certainly benefit from. Please share with us what you think of his work. ~Stephanie Wall, Executive Editor, [e-mail]
Featured Contents:
Why Linux?
Advantages of Open Source
Disadvantages of Open Source
Real-Time Operating Systems
Minimal Linux
Static Versus Dynamic Linking
Understanding the Boot Process
Hardware Considerations
Choosing an Embedded Linux Toolkit
Debugging Your Application
Debugging Tools

The rapid rise of Linux as a standard in embedded devices has resulted in a need for better texts. John Lombaro's in-depth understanding of the topic and his straightforward approach make this the perfect book for getting started in embedded systems programming.
~Bob Young, Chairman and Co-founder, Red Hat, Inc.

From the Author

Linux is a great development environment for many types of applications, and many good books have been written on the subject. This book looks at a very specific area of Linux development - embedded devices. Using Linux on your embedded device seems like a wild fantasy a few short years ago; now it's almost routine. This book will help you get started building the software you need to run your embedded device. It will help you avoid the traps and pitfalls, and keep your system lean - reducing your build cost as much as possible.
~John Lombardo

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 1 edition (July 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073570998X
• ISBN-13: 978-0735709980
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,344,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worthy attempt falls far short of the mark of being embedded, July 31, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Embedded Linux (Paperback)

Linux or not, yet another "embedded" book where the discussion barely mentions anything other than the x86, and where the book is certainly focused solely on x86. With embedded systems making up something like 90% of all computers sold in the world and where the x86 accounts for such a small fraction of these embedded systems, I'd wait for *anything* that isn't x86-centric. I mean, how hard is it to envision getting Linux up and running on an x86? We've been doing it since the days of the floppy-based "dd" releases. One passage in the book tells you to "press CTRL + D" ...hey that's great, if you've got a PC BIOS and a keyboard and an entire lifetime of work in front of where your Embedded Linux project starts.

A buy versus build "hardware" section is yet another attempt at trying to settle some of the complex decisions in a generic, watered-down way that is only useful for a marketing professional rather than an engineering professional. Does John know that the price of a PC-104 controller and expansion board is extremely prohibitive in any real "embedded" world where quantity is an issue? When was the last time you found a PC-104 expansion board on your automobile ignition timing control computer or in your elevator controller? Maybe John is simply telling us that Embedded Linux isn't ready for real embedded systems yet, and that as long as we stay on the PC we're good to go? No discussion on creating your own bootloader, no discussion on initializing your system in such a way that it prepares it for running the Linux kernel, just, follow these instructions for x86 and it will work...very few "why" answers in this "Embedded mini-HOWTO" for x86.

John does briefly mention just about everything related to some of the decisions you will make in your own embedded Linux projects. Unless you think you'd be happy with a 30,000' view of embedded Linux and/or your world revolves around the x86, then maybe you'll find his anecdotal content useful. John's candid revelation that he used VMware extensively during book development to replace his "host" computer should alert you to the x86-centricity of this book. Also, John, mixes the use of "host" in the very brief chapter on testing and debugging. He initially tells us that we should test on our "Host Computer" as much as possible because that's where the code must eventually run then goes on during a very spartan GDB mention that "you can still use gdb by connecting your host to your target through the serial port." No mention of the "gdb stub" or anything related to real embedded Linux work, but at least you're left wondering when you're a host and when you're not. I'd leave this one on the bookshelf as it is not yet ready for prime time. I even find it hard to recommend it for people doing x86 work as there just is not enough useful detail. The book would be better named "Embedded Linux for x86 and A Discussion of Issues Surrounding It." Sorry John. I know that "bad" reviews are painful, but where are any meat and potatoes in this book? This is almost as bad as Embedded Linux Journal's first "embedded project" where they wanted an "embedded system" with the 100Mbit/s Ethernet *and* the ability to store at least an entire movie on the "target." It seems that few Linux people really do "get" embedded systems. Honestly, I can't imagine that the 40 or so words you wrote about "using" gdb for testing and debugging really covered that topic at all. I'm guessing that you've never really had to debug an embedded system. I didn't see any mention of an oscilloscope or logic analyzer, so I'm thinking that you're way above the hardware, too. Being so separated from the "embedded" in the "system" suggests 30,000 feet to me. I'm not saying that you need to tell your readers what As and 5s do, but I'd like to think that we're at least in the same ballpark playing basically the same game.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars = * * *, December 8, 2001

By 

Larry R (San Diego, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Embedded Linux (Paperback)

What does "embedded" mean? What does "realtime" mean? For someone with no preconceived definition of "embedded", this book could help them feel they have some idea of what it means to do "embedded Linux". For people with preconceived ideas, I think they might feel this book does not sufficiently address the topic. It does not cover all the bases by any stretch of the imagination.

The book is relatively light on content; maybe 150 pages of it; but it doesn't cost much either. For what it is, the content is okay, but I don't think anybody should come away from this book thinking they know all about how to do anything.

I guess I would say this book provides some information about the issues involved in running Linux on a PC-style computer which has limited resources such as RAM and nonvolatile storage, and could help someone with a hardware setup like that to get it going with Linux.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Astonishingly shallow and useless, February 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Embedded Linux (Paperback)

A major disappointment - most of this book can be found on the Internet using any search engine. Save your money and nerves, and go to the Linux Documentation Project.