Is anyone using Python for embedded applications?

[Carl J. Van Arsdall]

Hendrik van Rooyen wrote:
>  
>>
>>     
>
> It depends a *lot* on what is meant by "embedded" :
>   
Ha, very true....

> This definition seems to cover everything from:
>     - a cut down PC in a non standard box, through
>     - a processor in a Washing Machine, to
>     - a bare PIC processor in a Burglar Alarm...
>   
We are considering now are mobile phone and pocket pc-esque devices.  I 
know that several phones with arm processors are running an arm version 
of linux now, we're thinking how reasonable it might be to run python 
applications on a phone, and which python might best apply.  Is there a 
good way to determine the "minimum requirements" for a python 
application?  I'd imagine these might be something like the min 
requirements of python (cpython, pymite, etc) + additional requirements 
placed by the design of the application.  Is there a good way to study a 
python application and figure that type of thing out?


> I think the main hassles are that you need something big enough
> to run a reasonable OS in, and it must support being programmed in C,
> (which most things do), and it must have some MegaBytes of RAM 
> loose for the Python. (where more is merrier)
>
> Trying to run this on say an AVR or 8031 with a 64k address space and
> a scarcity of RAM, will, to say the least, be a bit of a challenge...
>
> As far as the OS goes, Linux is probably the best bet, if you can get it to
> fit in your hardware - It has been ported to ARM type processors from
> various companies (Atmel springs to mind), and is free, which is a help
> in a personal project.  You could of course also roll your own kernel, 
> which will be good practice, as with a limited set of peripherals its not 
> THAT hard to do, but its a bit far away from Python -   :- )
>   

Yea, we are thinking on the more robust end of the embedded side.  So a 
system capable of running Linux or Windows CE (or something similar)
> What display device are you going to use, or is it going to be a webserver
> sitting on a power over ethernet link?
>
> I haven't actually taken the plunge myself yet to put Python on any of the 
> hardware we make, as it seems to add a lot of overhead to a simple device 
> - but I come from the bottom up, as it were, and the idea is intriguing, 
> as I in fact discovered Python because it is embedded in a GPS module 
> we were evaluating for building into a device - so I will follow your 
> progress with interest...
>
>   


-- 

Carl J. Van Arsdall
cvanarsdall at mvista.com
Build and Release
MontaVista Software