“A veteran company of the open-source movement will unveil this
week what it hopes will become a unifying application programming
interface for using the GNU-Linux operating system in the embedded
world. Riding the coattails of Linux’ popularity, Cygnus Solutions
Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) will spin its EL/IX API at the Embedded
Systems Conference here as an effort to keep Linux from fragmenting
in the embedded space. But the move is already drawing mixed
reviews from some developers.”
“EL/IX would also allow developers to use desktop Linux software
to build embedded applications for Linux or on eCos, Cygnus’
real-time operating system. Cygnus founder Michael Tiemann is
hoping that factor will lure developers from traditional RTOS
vendors like Wind River Systems Inc.”
“The progression of Linux into embedded markets has put the
OS in a precarious spot, Tiemann said, because chunks of the kernel
must be culled to fit embedded applications.“