Re: [ECOS] Linux and Ecos

[Grant Edwards <grante at visi dot com>]

On Mon, Jan 31, 2000 at 02:03:29PM +1100, Brendan J Simon wrote:

> > I hope not.  eCos and embedded Linux have almost nothing in
> > common other than they're both open-source operating systems.
> >
> > Embedded Linux and and eCos do not compete with each other.
> 
> What features does eCos have that Linux does not (besides Real Time
> scheduling and code space).

Real time scheduling and code space are sort of the whole point
of an RTOS.  Aside from that, eCos will run from ROM, it will
run on a machine without virtual memory, and on many processors
which Linux will not.

> There are real time available features for Linux so I do envisage them
> competing for similar markets but not necessarily all markets.  

Perhaps there is a small area where the two might overlap, but
in the 15 years I've been unsing RTOSes, Embedded Linux would
never come close to meeting the requirements for any of the
projects on which I've worked.

> For example, our company makes rack mount encryption products.
> We were going to use a commercial RTOS which supplies full
> source code but are now going to embed Linux.

It must be nice to have that much memory, mass storage for a
filesystem, and such a powerful processor.  I've never had
those luxuries in the real-time projects on which I've worked.

> eCos was discussed but was not chosen due to the lack of IP
> stack, SNMP, filesystem, etc.

You are correct that eCOS doesn't have SNMP (nor do any of the
RTOSes which which I am famialiar). eCos has several TCP/IP
stacks availble (some commercial, some free) and several
filesystems available (all commercial, AFAIK).

-- 
Grant Edwards
grante@visi.com