FRAMINGHAM, Mass., 6 Dec. 2007.Embedded Linux has achieved design parity with commercial real-time operating systems (RTOS) for most projects, say analysts at Embedded Market Forecasters (EMF) in Framingham, Mass.
"This study shows that designing with an embedded Linux OS can be as dependable as designing with an RTOS," says Dr. Jerry Krasner, an embedded technology authority and the author of the study. "The availability of general and application-specific tool sets has enabled designs that are on-time and close to pre-design expectations."
Using a commercial embedded Linux operating system is more effective than a non-commercial "in-house" Linux development undertaking, even though in-house Linux development projects typically involve much less complexity than projects that use commercial embedded Linux and RTOS, EMF analysts say.
In fact, 15.9 percent fewer in-house embedded Linux projects meet the pre-design expectation levels developers using commercial Linux and RTOS achieve, analysts say in the report Embedded Linux Total Cost of Development Analyzed.
Embedded Linux, furthermore, is suitable for mission-critical applications that require multiple independent levels of security (MILS) certification or POSIX conformance, when used in protected memory under a certified RTOS, EMF claims.
EMF's report is based on interviews with more than 1,300 embedded developers, and compares the outcomes of hundreds of design projects that use embedded Linux to those that use commercial RTOS. The report also compares project outcomes using commercial embedded Linux with non-commercial roll-your-own embedded Linux.
The new report updates the findings of EMF's 2003 report Total Cost of Development, a Comprehensive Cost Evaluation Framework for Evaluating Embedded Development Platforms, EMF analysts say.
For more information contact EMF online at www.embeddedforecast.com.
