ECos

Infobox OS
name =
developer = eCosCentric
source_model = Open source
supported_platforms = ARM, CalmRISC, FR-V, Hitachi H8, IA-32, Motorola 68000, Matsushita AM3x, MIPS, NEC V8xx, Nios II, PowerPC, SPARC, and SuperH
family = Real-time operating systems
marketing_target = Embedded systems
programmed_in = C
working_state = Current
license = eCos License (GPL with exceptions)
website = [http://ecos.sourceware.org/ ecos.sourceware.org]

eCos ("embedded configurable operating system") is an open source, royalty-free, real-time operating system intended for embedded systems and applications which need only one process with multiple threads. It is designed to be customizable to precise application requirements of run-time performance and hardware needs. It is programmed in the C programming language, and has compatibility layers and APIs for POSIX and µITRON.

Design

eCos was designed for devices with memory size in the tens to hundreds of kilobytes [Citation|last=Larmour|first=Jonathan|title=How eCos can be shrunk to fit|newspaper=Embedded Systems Europe|pages=34|year=2005|date=May 2005|url=http://i.cmpnet.com/embedded/europe/esemay05/esemay05p32.pdf] , or with real-time requirements. It can be used on hardware with too little RAM to support embedded Linux, which currently needs a minimum of about 2 MB of RAM, not including application and service needs.

eCos runs on a [http://ecos.sourceware.org/hardware.html wide variety of hardware platforms] , including ARM, CalmRISC, FR-V, Hitachi H8, IA-32, Motorola 68000, Matsushita AM3x, MIPS, NEC V8xx, Nios II, PowerPC, SPARC, and SuperH.

Included with the eCos distribution is RedBoot, an open source application that uses the eCos Hardware Abstraction Layer to provide bootstrap firmware for embedded systems.

History

eCos was initially developed by Cygnus Solutions which was later bought by Red Hat. In early 2002, Red Hat ceased development of eCos and laid off the staff that were working on the project [cite news|title=Red Hat backs away from eCos?|publisher=linuxdevices.com|date=2002-06-19|url=http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS5933176616.html|accessdate=2007-04-01] who then formed their own company, eCosCentric, in order to continue development and provide commercial support for eCos. In January 2004, at the request of the eCos developers, Red Hat agreed to transfer its eCos copyrights to the Free Software Foundation [cite press release|title=Red Hat to contribute copyrights held in the eCos code base to the Free Software Foundation|publisher=Red Hat|date=2004-01-13|url=http://www.redhat.com/about/presscenter/2004/press_eCosFSF.html] . The transfer was finally executed in October 2005.

Non-free versions

eCosPro is a proprietary eCos and RedBoot distribution created by eCosCentric that is targeted towards developers looking to integrate eCos and RedBoot within commercial products. It is claimed as a "stable, fully tested, certified and supported version" [cite press release|title=eCosCentric announces eCosPro Developer's Kit|publisher=OSNews|date=2003-09-02|url=http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=4395|accessdate=2007-03-31] , however, some of the additional features have not been released as free software.

ee also

*List of real-time operating systems

References

External links

* [http://ecos.sourceware.org/ eCos Homepage]
* [http://www.embedded.com/story/OEG20011220S0059 "eCos Porting Guide"] article by Anthony J. Massa 2001-12-28
* [http://www.informit.com/content/images/0130354732/downloads/0130354732.pdf "Embedded Software Development with eCos"] book by Anthony J. Massa 2002-11-25, ISBN 0-13-035473-2
* [http://www.ecoscentric.com/ecos/ecospro.shtml eCosCentric web site]