Chapter 5. Hardware Considerations

PREVIOUS CHAPTERS EXAMINED THE MANY ISSUES and advantages related to using Linux in embedded environments. Of course, the eventual goal is an actual physical product, and that means hardware. If you were creating a Linux application to run on a standard PC, your task would be greatly simplified, because the environment is well defined and doesn’t vary much from one manufacturer to another. But because the embedded world includes a huge number of different product types and requirements, that means an equal number of potential hardware solutions and difficult decisions to be made. Unfortunately, the perfect hardware solution for the motorized hula-hoop controller you have in mind is probably not going to be the perfect solution for the nuclear-powered, telepathically controlled, handheld inertial navigation system that your boss wants you to build.

There simply is no universal platform that fits all needs.That’s the bad news.

The good news is that Linux support is available for virtually every microprocessor type and family in existence, from simple micro-controllers that cost only a few dollars to sophisticated multiprocessor systems with supercomputer performance and hefty price tags.Whatever your application, it’s certain that one or more appropriate choices are available. And, while there is no simple cookbook method for instantly selecting the right hardware solution, you can apply some well-known guidelines to make the process manageable.