Moving through the project life cycle

This book is divided into five sections that reflect the phases of a project. The phases are not necessarily sequential. Usually, they overlap, and you will need to jump back to revisit things that were done previously. However, they are representative of a developer’s preoccupations as the project progresses:

• Elements of Embedded Linux (Chapters 1 to 5) will help you set up the development environment and create a working platform for the later phases. It is often referred to as the board bring-up phase.
• Building Embedded Linux Images (Chapters 6 to 8) shows you how to automate the process of building an embedded Linux image by leveraging a build system like Buildroot or The Yocto Project. Automating complex build tasks accelerates the project life cycle so that teams can deliver higher-quality products in less time.
• System Architecture and Design Choices (Chapters 9 to 14) will inform some of the design decisions you will have to make concerning the storage of programs and data, how to divide work between kernel device drivers and applications, and how to initialize the system.
• Developing Applications (Chapters 15 to 18) shows you how to package and deploy Python applications, make effective use of the Linux process and thread model, and manage memory in a resource-constrained device. What do packaging and deploying Python applications have to do with embedded Linux? The answer is “not much”, but bear in mind that the word “development” also happens to be in the title of this book. And Chapters 15 and 16 have everything to do with modern-day software development.
• Debugging and Optimizing Performance (Chapters 19 to 21) describes how to trace, profile, and debug your code in both the application and the kernel. The last chapter explains how to design for real-time behavior when required.

Now, let’s focus on the four basic elements of embedded Linux that comprise the first section of the book.