Foreword for the Second Edition

Smart phones. PDAs. Home routers. Smart televisions. Smart Blu-ray players. Smart yo-yos. OK, maybe not. More and more of the everyday items in our homes and offices, used for work and play, have computers embedded in them. And those computers are running GNU/Linux.

You may be a GNU/Linux developer used to working on desktop (or notebook) Intel Architecture systems. Or you may be an embedded systems developer used to more traditional embedded and/or real-time operating systems. Whatever your background, if you’re entering the world of embedded Linux development, Dorothy’s “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” applies to you. Welcome to the adventure!

Dorothy had a goal, and some good friends, but no guide. You, however, are better off, since you’re holding an amazing field guide to the world of embedded Linux development. Christopher Hallinan lays it all out for you—the how, the where, the why, and also the “what not to do.” This book will keep you out of the school of hard knocks and get you going easily and quickly on the road to building your product.

It is no surprise that this book has been a leader in its market. This new edition is even better. It is up to date and brings all the author’s additional experience to bear on the subject.

I am very proud to have this book in my series. But what’s more important is that you will be proud of yourself for having built a better product because you read it! Enjoy!

Arnold Robbins

Series Editor