Embedded hardware will continue to get more complex, following the trajectory set by Moore's Law. Linux has the power and the flexibility to make use of hardware in an efficient way.

Linux is just one component of open source software out of the many that you need to create a working product. The fact that the code is freely available means that people and organizations at many different levels can contribute. However, the sheer variety of embedded platforms and the fast pace of development lead to isolated pools of software which are not shared as efficiently as they should be. In many cases, you will become dependent on this software, especially the Linux kernel that is provided by your SoC or Board vendor, and to a lesser extent the toolchain. Some SoC manufacturers are getting better at pushing their changes upstream and the maintenance of these changes is getting easier.

Fortunately, there are some powerful tools that can help you create and maintain the software for your device. For example, Buildroot is ideal for small systems and the Yocto Project for larger ones.

Before I describe these build tools, I will describe the four elements of embedded Linux, which you can apply to all embedded Linux projects, however they are created. The next chapter is all about the first of these, the toolchain, which you need to compile code for your target platform.