WirelessDevNet: Linux for handhelds: fact or fiction? [Linux7k for Psion Series 5]

[ Thanks to Bryan for this link.
]

“One such project to port Linux to another platform is
Linux7k. The platform that has been targeted by ‘7k is (somewhat
surprisingly) the Psion Series 5 handheld. In fact “7k” refers to
7110, the base motherboard and chip for the Psion device.”

“A lot of interest has developed for using a Linux-based Series
5 as a diagnostics tool for routers and other networking hardware.
In this case, a PPP connection, and a telnet or SSH (encrypted
shell) session could provide a solution. A use such as this could
promote Linux7k to more Series 5 users. Another worthy use for
Linux on the Psion is one I came across a while ago. It is possible
to use the GNU editor Emacs as an aid to the blind by using it with
a module allowing a synthetic voice to speak text out of a suitable
sound device. I had a suggestion from one user asking if it was
possible to use such a set-up running on the Series 5. The idea
would be that the user could use a Series 5 with Emacs and the
voice module as a “vocal notepad”. At the time it was deemed too
power hungry for a Series 5 to handle. With the progression of
Linux7k to the Series 5mx (providing more memory, and a faster and
FPU enabled processor) it may now be possible to implement this
fantastic idea.”

“Although cross-compilation is perhaps the user-friendliest way
of porting and developing applications for Linux7k (if only for the
full-sized keyboard!) it is still possible to run the development
tools on the Psion itself. Examples of this would be gcc, g++ and
yacc. Rather than just tools that create binaries, there also
exists suitably portable scripting tools such as Perl, Bash and
Csh. As may be expected, the ‘7k kernel is cross-compiled from an
Intel installation of Linux on a desktop. Early on, a toolkit was
developed to allow compilation of the source into an ARM7110 kernel
binary. Developing on a PC means that the kernel can be compiled
much quicker. This speed difference is important when considering
that the native platform is a handheld.”

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