Embedded XP Vs. Embedded Linux

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Guest

Hi all,

I just want to know how embedded xp is better than embedded linux? What
makes us choose embedded xp and what are its advantages over embedded linux?

I am just curious to know coz' I dont have any idea to defend that "why to
choose emb. xp", please reply e to give a technical overview that y xpe is
better?

Best Regards,
-- Sana Z.
 
Sana,

XP Embedded being "better" than Embedded Linux maybe isn't the right
approach. Each OS has features and functions that make them a better choice
for different devices but each scenario has different circumstances.

For example, let's say your creating a Thin Client and you want to have the
Citrix Client, RDP support, and a web browser. XP Embedded may be a better
choice here because of it's rich multimedia capabilities, it's ability to
offer the full "web experience", the ability to get and support new versions
of the ICA client, RDP, etc, etc.

Now let's say that you have a 32MB footprint limitation and need a service
that will listen for incoming traffic on a serial connection, do something
with the data, and return a result. This system will be headless and run on
a 233MHz processor. In this case XP Embedded may not be the best choice, it
may be Linux, or it could be Windows CE. ;-)

Now a significant portion of the argument for Linux over XP Embedded often
comes down to price. But keep in mind that development costs, support
scenarios, and GPL issues (all software has to be available for download and
comply with GPL which costs money) will sometimes negate the savings from
licensing. This is not true in all scenarios but I have personally been part
of a few studies and often the savings is insignificant.

So each OS has it's place and if used correctly will benefit the OEM and the
consumer.

That's three cents worth but I don't mind spending the extra penny. ;-)

Brad
 
Early on when I evaluated Linux I could not get any info that would tell me
if they supported the equivilant to the Enhanced write filter or not. I know
they have done something recently but don't know.
For me multi media was importand and a rich GUI.
Another thing was that since I already was familiar with Windows, every time
I investigated Linux, the lack of organization and clarity made my head
spin. Not that XPe was organized 4 years ago like is now, but for Linux it
was just one big chaotic mess. If I had a Linux PC background, it would
have possibly been different. A big thing I think is what is your companies
talent consist of? If you have a bunch of windows programmers, then
switching to Linux you will take a huge hit. With XPe, you need maybe one or
two guys who understand the difference between XPe and a regular XP pro
setup and then you can mostly have the rest of your staff as regular Windows
programmers.
 
Brad is correct that total cost should not be measured only in terms of
licensing fees. However he did not mention what I believe is the most
significant element affecting cost and that is open source. Open source at
times greatly decreases total cost if your organization has a person with
the ability and desire to go into the source to find problems or make one
important change. It's been noted in this NG by some of the most prolific
and reliable contributors that although open source may not be needed for a
workstation/server system such as XP Pro, it is very desirable for an
embedded system such as XP Embedded claims to be. Speaking for myself and
notwithstanding this newsgroup which is essential for survival in the XPe
world, I believe there were a number of times when I might have saved a
great deal of time if I could have consulted the source.

RHL
 
What, you wanted me to make the case for embedded Linux stronger in an XPe
newsgroup? ;-)
 
The project I'm working on uses embedded XP. When I first joined the
development team, I complained that we weren't using Linux, but as time
went by I came to realize that XPe provided a pretty focused
development setup. I didn't have to go out and learn all the little
tweaks and changes required to build my own Linux distro that would
boot off read-only media. I was able to just add the bare minimum of
what I needed, run a dependency check, and start using the OS. I
haven't actually *built* an embedded Linux system, but I'd be surprised
if it's as straightforward as working with XPe. And, as others have
mentioned, if you work in a Windows shop already, getting people to
learn e.g. Linux system calls is a pretty big hit.
 
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