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Tuesday 7 October 2008
Design
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|NewsletterEmbedded Systems
Don't mess with the Eclipse framework warns open source supplier
Thursday 22 March 2007
Open source development software is attracting much attention in the embedded design community. The concept of a collective of reliable and vendor support royalty free software originated in the IT sector but is now making an increasingly important impact in the design of embedded processor and FPGA systems.
But how reliable is open source software and can it help developers create truly leading edge embedded designs?
Yes, says Linux operating system supplier LynuxWorks, but it believes that software vendors must not be tempted to cut corners when modifying and supporting open source software.
Eclipse is one of the most important open source support communities. It has created and supports a number embedded design projects which include IDEs for C/C++, mobile Java (J2ME)and mobile Linux.
One aspect of these projects is that they specify a set of software design rules which should ensure that all Eclipse compliant software is interoperable with established operating systems and devices drivers.
Responsibility to ensure the compatibility of the open source software rests with the vendors and Robert Day, v-p of marketing at LynuxWorks has a warning: “Don’t mess with the Eclipse Framework.”
The standard design rules, or Framework, for Eclipse supported software ensure compatibility when using application, or software plug-ins, from different suppliers.
Software suppliers may modify the design rules to make their software work more efficiently, but as Day points out: “This can affect the integration points for other software plug-ins.”
This may not be a big issue in the market at present, but Day warns that the open source community needs to be careful if it is not to store up problems for the future. “I do see modified versions of the Eclipse Framework out in the market,” says Day.
With the inevitable growth of open source developments and software compatibility could be an issue which rears up and bites developers if not addressed.
LynuxWorks CEO, Gurjot Singh says there is a responsibility and a challenge for software suppliers to ensure full interoperability when dealing with open-source software which is effectively free.
“We have accepted this challenge and our competitors have a similar challenge,” says Gurjot Singh, CEO at Lynux Works.
But how reliable is open source software and can it help developers create truly leading edge embedded designs?
Yes, says Linux operating system supplier LynuxWorks, but it believes that software vendors must not be tempted to cut corners when modifying and supporting open source software.
Eclipse is one of the most important open source support communities. It has created and supports a number embedded design projects which include IDEs for C/C++, mobile Java (J2ME)and mobile Linux.
One aspect of these projects is that they specify a set of software design rules which should ensure that all Eclipse compliant software is interoperable with established operating systems and devices drivers.
Responsibility to ensure the compatibility of the open source software rests with the vendors and Robert Day, v-p of marketing at LynuxWorks has a warning: “Don’t mess with the Eclipse Framework.”
The standard design rules, or Framework, for Eclipse supported software ensure compatibility when using application, or software plug-ins, from different suppliers.
Software suppliers may modify the design rules to make their software work more efficiently, but as Day points out: “This can affect the integration points for other software plug-ins.”
This may not be a big issue in the market at present, but Day warns that the open source community needs to be careful if it is not to store up problems for the future. “I do see modified versions of the Eclipse Framework out in the market,” says Day.
With the inevitable growth of open source developments and software compatibility could be an issue which rears up and bites developers if not addressed.
LynuxWorks CEO, Gurjot Singh says there is a responsibility and a challenge for software suppliers to ensure full interoperability when dealing with open-source software which is effectively free.
“We have accepted this challenge and our competitors have a similar challenge,” says Gurjot Singh, CEO at Lynux Works.
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