Embedded Linux refers to a version of standard Linux that has been miniaturized and tailored to fit into memory chips or microcontrollers with only a few kilobytes or megabytes of capacity, suitable for specific embedded applications with a specialized Linux operating system.
Smart Manufacturing
The success of Linux in the market is closely related to its excellent characteristics.
1. Extensive Hardware Support
Linux supports various architectures and runs on almost all popular CPUs. It supports many major hardware devices and the latest hardware technologies, with a rich resource of drivers that can run on processors without a Memory Management Unit (MMU), further promoting Linux’s application in embedded systems.
2. Efficient and Stable Kernel
The Linux kernel process scheduling, memory management, inter-process communication, virtual file systems, and network interfaces are divided into five parts, with a unique modular mechanism that allows users to insert or remove certain modules in real-time. These features enable the Linux system kernel to be cut down to a very small size, suitable for embedded systems.
3. Open Source, Rich Software
As an open-source free operating system, Linux provides users with maximum freedom. Embedded systems vary widely and often require modifications and optimizations for specific applications, making access to source code very important. The software resources available for Linux are abundant, and almost all general-purpose programs can be found on Linux, with the number continuously increasing.
The company actively responds to the national “14th Five-Year Plan” by developing an industrial IoT gateway using ARM development boards with built-in embedded Linux systems, contributing to the digital transformation of the industry. The Linux system, paired with ARM development boards, provides rich interfaces for developing applications to upload data to the upper-level communication and read data from the lower-level communication. By installing the lightweight database SQLite3 for data transfer, it efficiently uploads on-site data to the cloud for processing and display. The good application of Linux in embedded systems has brought very positive impacts and adds value to the development of embedded applications!
Written and reviewed by/Wang Zhuo
Edited by/Liu Shanshan
