ELC: The embedded Linux nightmare

ELC: The embedded Linux nightmare

Posted Apr 18, 2007 5:59 UTC (Wed) by drag (subscriber, #31333)
In reply to: ELC: The embedded Linux nightmare by sepreece
Parent article: ELC: The embedded Linux nightmare

The way he was talking was that it was more then a use vs them situation.

It's that the embedded Linux developers aren't listenning to the advice that the Linux kernel developers are trying to give them.

It's not that the Linux kernel developers expect more 'back' from the embedded developers, it's just that the embedded developers are being very foolish by not working closer with them.

For example it's been stated many times that with the Linux kernel the easiest and cheapest way to get hardware support a wide range of kernels, from old to to new, is to get your driver into the mainline kernel.

That if your a developer who, for whatever reason, has to support a wide veriaty of kernels it's MUCH MUCH cheaper and more effective to get your driver into the kernel were it gets latest updates and bug fixes and then _backport_ your drivers to older kernels.

Starting off developing with older kernels then trying to maintain your own patches going forward onto newer kernels is suicide.

With the Linux kernel backporting is cheaper and much easier then forward porting. In addition once you get your driver into mainline kernel then that driver is essentially self-maintaining. Usually only a little bit of maintainance and regression checking should be needed for each new kernel. So it's a win-win.

At least that is what I've been told and I've read. It seems that hardware developers almost universally see dramatic benifits from working with mainline kernel developers.

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