| A developer's review of Lineo's Embedix SDK |
Jerry Epplin (Sept. 9, 2001)
Foreword: This article is the first in LinuxDevices.com's new series of reviews, by software developer Jerry Epplin, of Embedded Linux toolkits. In order to gain insight into the use of each toolkit from the developer's perspective, Epplin builds Embedded Linux OS images for three different x86-based EBX form-factor single board computers using each toolkit. Each of the toolkits is then evaluated against a common set of criteria which include ease of use, overall toolkit architecture, methods of package management, diversity of platform support, and openness of the source code. In this installment, Epplin takes a close-up look at Lineo's Embedix SDK 2.0.
First impressions
Lineo's Embedix SDK 2.0 product, used for configuring and deploying Linux-based devices, has the features and polish that one expects from commercial software developers. With its slick interface and exceptional documentation, Embedix is certain to bring Linux within the reach of many developers previously put off by its steep learning curve.
Also certain, is that not everyone will approve of the way in which they have done it. Like their sister company, Caldera Systems, Lineo releases their software under what might be called a "license soup" -- GPL-licensed components are combined (or "merely aggregated", in GPL language) with proprietary-licensed components in ways that make it impractical to separate them. The whole is then marketed as a single product, effectively under the most restrictive license. Such a strategy excludes traditional open source software users, who won't pony up the $4995 to purchase a copy. On the other hand, it is also perhaps the only proven GPL-based software business model so far, having been used to profitable effect for many years by Cygnus, now part of Red Hat.
Getting to know Target Wizard
Regardless of your opinion of Lineo's strategy, however, one cannot deny that Embedix is a well-designed, well-implemented product. A GUI-based configuration tool, named Target Wizard, provides in a clear way all the functionality that most systems will need.
Lineo's Target Wizard simplifies building an embedded system
(larger picture here)
The configuration output is exposed, allowing users to change options if they cannot or do not wish to use Target Wizard. The entire process is well documented on all levels, not just on the Target Wizard level.
Embedix has a comprehensive facility for determining and resolving dependencies, both for packages and for the kernel. Linux users are accustomed to relying on package management systems, such as those by Red Hat and Debian, for resolving package dependencies. These have become quite sophisticated, to the point that now Linux users can literally just push a button and their systems are updated over the Internet, with all libraries and packages updated without intervention. However, it is still common for users to install a package only to find, upon running the program, that it requires some kernel facility that has not been compiled in.
Embedix handles this in an elegant and seamless way, so that all dependencies, whether package-based or kernel-based, are resolved with the same mechanism. Thus, for example, when I attempted to create a build that would be bootable from a CD-ROM drive, Target Wizard informed me that I did not have ISO9660 support configured into my kernel. Upon my adding that symbol, Target Wizard rebuilt the kernel and built my system without further ado. Such a tool integrating kernel, OS, and application dependencies would be as useful for desktop Linux as for embedded Linux. It is all closed, sad to say, so don't expect the Embedix facility management system to appear in desktop Linux distributions any time soon, but it could serve as a useful template for a future open source implementation.
--- Continued ---
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