[ Thanks to LinuxDevices.com for this link.
]
“LinuxDevices.com founder Rick Lehrbaum recently interviewed Red
Hat CTO Michael Tiemann, with a focus on three embedded Linux
topics: (1) Red Hat’s current intentions for eCos, an open source
embedded OS that Red Hat inherited through its acquisition of
Cygnus (Tiemann’s former company); (2) the status of EL/IX, a Red
Hat proposal for an embedded Linux version of the POSIX API (also
produced by Cygnus); and (3) the progress of the Linux Standards
Base.”
“RL: Given that Red Hat is clearly the world’s preeminent
commercial provider of Linux, why doesn’t Red Hat apply its
resources to creating a highly embeddable “micro-linux” derived
from the Linux kernel, instead of continuing to promote eCos?”
“Tiemann: Don’t think of Red Hat as a “Linux company”.
Really, we’re an “open source company”. For example, the GNU
compilers are incredibly important to our business. Open source is
the common denominator.“
“RL: In that case, how should embedded system developers think
about eCos, relative to Linux?”
“Tiemann: They’re like a motorcycle and a house trailer (or
SUV). Let’s say you take your trailer, towing your motorcycle, on a
vacation. You drive to a mountain in the trailer. But when you want
to drive up onto the mountain, you don’t use the trailer, you
switch to the motorcycle. eCos offers developers an opportunity to
stay within the open source realm when the application isn’t
appropriate for Linux.”