Free embedded systems software for linux

Embedded Slackware is a software development kit for the automated creation of bootable embedded systems based on Slackware and Busybox. The focus is on i486 and ARM systems that use compact flash devices (handhelds and PC104 type boards). The distribution consists of a primary archive with tools, scripts, and documentation, and additional archives for the i486 and PXA250 binary components.
Enhancements:
- This update includes 2.4.34 and 2.6.20 embedded kernels.
- 44 easy-to-use burn scripts and runtime configurations are available.
- The distribution archive is an i486 working subset of the full distribution.
- The complete SDK consists of 5 base archives each for i486, uclibc_i486, pxa255, and uclibc_pxa255 architectures.
- Additional archives are also available for gcc, Wine, and Opie/Pixil LCD desktops.

X-Bone dynamically deploys and manages Internet overlays to reduce their configuration effort and increase network component sharing.
X-Bone discovers, configures, and monitors network resources to create overlays over existing IP networks.
It uses two-layer IP-in-IP tunneled overlays and supports existing applications and unmodified routing, multicast, and DNS services in unmodified operating systems. X-Bone also support IPsec within overlays.
Enhancements:
- This is an integrated distribution of FreeBSD 4.9 with X-Bone 3.2, including utilities and dependencies installed and preconfigured.

NullLogic Embedded Scripting Language (Nesla) code looks a lot like php (the same basic c operators, syntax and flow control) but with a lot less dollar signs. Internally, Nesla has a very clean API that makes it easy for c programs to make full use of its functions and data.

Nesla was originally written as a lightweight object model for c.

Nesla is Free Software, and is available under the terms of the GNU GPL.

Inferno is a compact operating system designed for building distributed and networked systems on a wide variety of devices and platforms.
Inferno was originally developed at Bell Labs (the research division of Lucent Technologies).
Inferno Operating System is a well-designed, economical operating system particularly suitable for use in networked devices such as advanced telephones, hand-held devices, TV set-top boxes, and many other embedded applications.
Inferno can run in native mode on an embedded system or in emulation mode under many different operating systems. Inferno has many features in common with Plan 9.
Cross-Platform Portability
Inferno can run as a user application on top of an existing operating system or as a stand alone operating system. Most of the popular operating systems and processor architectures are supported:
Host Operating Systems:
- Windows NT/2000/XP
- Irix
- Linux
- MacOS X
- FreeBSD
- Solaris
- Plan 9
Supported Architectures:
- Intel x86 (386 & higher)
- Intel XScale
- IBM PowerPC
- ARM StrongARM (ARM & Thumb)
- Sun SPARC
Inferno also runs as a plug-in under Internet Explorer version 4 and higher. Each Inferno system presents an identical environment to the applications, irrespective of the underlying host OS or architecture, allowing the developer to work with a truly homogeneous environment across multiple different platforms.
Portable Applications
Inferno applications are written in Limbo, a modern, safe, modular, concurrent programming language with C-like syntax. It is more powerful than C but considerably easier to understand and debug than C++ or Java. Limbo code is compiled into architecture independent byte code which is then interpreted (or compiled on the fly) on the target processor. This means that any Inferno application will run identically on all Inferno platforms.
Transparent Resources
Inferno offers complete transparency of resources and data using a simple but powerful namespace system. By representing resources as files and having one standard communication protocol, resources such as data stores, services and external devices can easily be shared between Inferno systems. A resource interface may be imported to the local system and used by the applications without them knowing, or needing to know, whether it is local or remote.
Security
High level security is an important part of the Inferno system. By using one standard protocol for all network communication, security can be focused on one point and provided at a system level. Inferno offers full support for authenticated, encrypted connections using a certificate based user identification scheme and variety of algorithms including:
- IDEA, 56 bit DES, 40, 128 and 256 bit RC4 encryption algorithms
- MD4, MD5 and SHA secure hash algorithms
A Complete Solution
Inferno is not only an operating system, it is also a complete development environment, providing all the tools necessary for creating, testing and debugging the applications that run within it.
- Acme IDE: includes editor, shell, advanced pattern matching tools & more
- Fast Compiler: with full syntax and compile time type checking
- Graphical Debugger: with full stack trace for currently executing threads
- Powerful Shell: with sophisticated scripting capabilities
- UNIX like commands: including bind, grep, gzip, mount, ps, tar, yacc...
Enhancements:
- New licence terms (a `dual licence scheme allowing use as Free Software)
- Styx revision based on 9P2000, and consequent changes to Sys
- Authentication changes
- Improved colour graphics support, including compositing
- Scalable fonts using Freetype
- Revamped Tk implementation
- Window management moved out of Tk to a separate window manager in Limbo
- Limbo: exception handling and fixed-point
- Limbo: other possible changes
- Dis VM changes
- More commands and library modules
- Better network service configuration
- /net/dns served by host and native DNS resolver
- Hosted kernels configured from a parts list as for native kernels
- Signed modules
- Internet Explorer plug-in revised and in source form
- Expanded documentation

minidentd provides a tiny IDENT server.

minidentd is a tiny IDENT server that implements RFC 1413. It includes no networking code, leaving it to a super-server. It can be used in embedded systems, and features user-controlled and randomly generated answers.

minidentd reads a series of IDENT requests on stdin and answers them on stdout. It logs what its doing on stderr. The environment variables xLOCALIP and xREMOTEIP, where x is the value of the PROTO environment variable, must contain the IDENT server address and the IDENT client address, respectively.

minidentd does not contact the network directly. Its meant to run under a super-server like tcpserver.

Options
-v : verbose mode. Log queries and replies..
-n : send ERROR : HIDDEN-USER replies if the user has a .ident file in his home directory.
-i : user-defined answers. The first 14 chars of the users .ident file, up to EOF or newline, are used instead of the user name. If the file exists and is empty, send ERROR : HIDDEN-USER. If it doesnt exist, send a normal reply.
-r : send random replies.
-y file : valid with -n or -i. Use file instead of .ident.
-t timeout : close connection after timeout seconds without a client request.

NetBSD is a free, secure, and highly portable Unix-like Open Source operating system available for many platforms, from 64-bit Opteron machines and desktop systems to handheld and embedded devices.
Its clean design and advanced features make it excellent in both production and research environments, and it is user-supported with complete source. Many applications are easily available through The NetBSD Packages Collection.
Main features:
- Clean design
- Wide platform support
- BSD License
- Full source availability
- Security
- Mature and stable
- Hype free
- Packet filtering and Network Address Translation (NAT)
- IPv6
- Network File System (NFS)
- Comprehensive and robust networking
- Wireless networking
- Hardware and software RAID
- High performance PCI IDE
- SCSIPI subsystem - combined SCSI and ATAPI
- 64-bit filesystems
- Large IDE disks
- Soft Updates on FFS for high performance and reliability
- Many filesystem types
- DVD ROM and RAM
- The package system (applications)
- Machine independent driver framework
- Machine independent audio framework
- Kernel debugging
- OS emulation
- USB (Universal serial bus)
- Other device support
- The UVM virtual memory system
- Cardbus
- wscons machine independent console
- 64-bit clean
- Non-executable stack and heap