Hi, I’m a non-programmer, so please forgive me if I say something stupid. My
question is: if I were to chose QNX over Linux (I’m currently using Widows),
how hard would it be to get Linux programs running in QNX? Would I just have
to recompile or would it be more complicated? Thanks in advance.
–
Anthony Bennett
In general, both Linux and QNX aim for posix compliance so you will (in
general;-) find that it is not very difficult getting Linux programs to compile
and run. RTP has a very nice X server that allows most (in my experience)
X programs to run quite nicely as well. You may like to take a look at the
advocacy news group for some more points.
Cheers,
Kris
Tony <bennett@catholic.org> wrote:
**Hi, I’m a non-programmer, so please forgive me if I say something stupid. My
question is: if I were to chose QNX over Linux (I’m currently using Widows),
how hard would it be to get Linux programs running in QNX? Would I just have
to recompile or would it be more complicated? Thanks in advance.
\Anthony Bennett**
–
Kris Warkentin
kewarken@qnx.com
(613)591-0836 x368
“You’re bound to be unhappy if you optimize everything” - Donald Knuth
Hi Tony,
I’m probably not the best person to ask this question of and the people
who would be good at this kind of question are probably not reading the
porting newsgroup. I would suggest that you post this question to the
advocacy newsgroup and you’ll probably get some great replies. I should
also say that anything I say here is purely my own opinion and should not
be construed in any way to reflect the opinion or policy of my employer.
I can tell you this much however: QNX and Linux share many things so the
best place to look is at the differences:
Linux is completely open source and QNX is not: This is both good and bad
depending on your point of view. QNX can sign NDA’s to get software/drivers
that Linux developers may not be able to. You can also develop proprietary
solutions on QNX that you may not be able to on Linux without hitting your
head on the GPL.
QNX and Linux have very different kernel architectures: I would recommend
going the the www.qnx.com site to see some of the docs - the architecture
guide is quite informative. My personal feeling is that QNX is a very modern
and elegant operating system with a working implementation of some of the
most advanced OS concepts in the world.
As far as ‘Joe average homeuser’ goes however, I wouldn’t necessarily
recommend either OS - Windows is still the OS I would put on my Grandmother’s
machine, simply because most things ‘just work’. Hackers and technical
people often become frustrated with the roadblocks Windows puts in their way
but the average use likes the fact that fonts and plugins and goofy programs
from the back of cereal boxes ‘just work’. That being said, both QNX and
Linux are rapidly approaching the ability to be a ‘desktop for everyone’. If
I had to choose one right this instant, I would probably pick QNX simply
because, for the average user, I think that it’s easier to install and use,
snappier and has very nice support for most of the common internet related
tasks. Besides, you can install it directly on your Windows partition without
risking blowing everything up.
Anyway, I hope this is enough to pique your curiosity. I would say to you,
“go take it for a spin” because it’s easy to use, fun to develop with and
I don’t think you could find a better choice of product to use for an
embedded system.
Cheers,
Kris Warkentin
Tony <bennett@catholic.org> wrote:
**Thank you very much for your response. Now I have another question: Much
like Windows dominates the market now, and Linux is starting to get a
lead… Does anyone here see QNX gaining momentum? Is there any reason for
the average Joe Homeuser to opt for QNX? Thanks in advance for your replies.
\Anthony Bennett**
–
Kris Warkentin
kewarken@qnx.com
(613)591-0836 x368
“You’re bound to be unhappy if you optimize everything” - Donald Knuth
Thank you very much for your response. Now I have another question: Much
like Windows dominates the market now, and Linux is starting to get a
lead… Does anyone here see QNX gaining momentum? Is there any reason for
the average Joe Homeuser to opt for QNX? Thanks in advance for your replies.
–
Anthony Bennett