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SDK – NOVAEMBED™:
THE ULTIMATE TOOL FOR LINUX USER

The SDK, is a complex set of SW

which allows you to program a user code, configure the operating system “kernel” with appropriate video, set boot parameters, select specific peripheral drivers and their configuration etc.
Many use Yocto (also supported by Novasom) as SDK which, apart from being very heavy and variable over time (it is an example of the instability of Linux distribution because it is in continual evolution), is programmed in lines of code. In this case an operation as simple as a monitor substitution can become very complex.
Our tested and 100% guaranteed SDK isn’t a distribution like Yocto, even though the latter can be installed on the Novasom board, but is our SW toolsuite named NovaEmbed™ which allows the programming of the Novasom embedded system at a kernel-BSP and Boot level in a visual and preset way this reduces “time to market” in the development of embedded Linux application (which normally require highly specialized personnel and more time) and guarantees no errors resulting from the command line programming of the traditional SDK.

NovaEmbed - The ultimate tool for linux user

 

On a more technical level, we can say that:

FASTER

NovaEmbed™ “mounts” the operating system in RAM while Yocto and other similar systems mount it on microSD or eMMC flash (both serial SDIO). Apart from the obvious and enormous difference of performance in terms of speed (64bit DDR3 at 866 MHz versus a SDIO serial (4bit at 25 MHz), there is the big problem of the MTBF writing cycle on “static” storage (µSD e flash) which can be anywhere between 10.000 and 100.000 after which it doesn’t work anymore. Each irregular shut off of the board causes an operating system rebuild and therefore of the writing cycles and due to the size in bytes of these systems, these “limits” aren’t as forgiving as they seem at first sight. And you mustn’t forget the environmental or vibrational problems that can inhibit communication with the microSD.

COMPLETELY OFFLINE

The NovaEmbed™ tool comes complete with everything it needs and is (intentionally) completely offline. This might seem like a disadvantage in an era where everything “cloud” is seen as the best solution. In reality Yocto and many other similar tools are being continually updated, without your input and while you are developing, with no guarantee that what you are using is still out there or works like it did yesterday. In these conditions is it really better with a “cloud” system?

85% LESS RAM required

The memory dimension of the Novasom Industries SDK is approx., 85% less than that of Yocto. This means that if the building of an application using Yocto requires 1GB of space, the same application with the Novasom Industries SDK requires only 150MB. Not only for storage, but for “moving” the user application to the RAM.

MADE TO MEASURE

Our kernel, settable by the NovaEmbed™ in a visual way, “made to measure” to contain what it needs and not packed to capacity (typical of a community kernel), is light, takes up little of the system resources and, to keep away the nasty surprises from the end user, has been tested accurately at every interaction with our hardware, not just the most obvious “visible” peripherals, like the Wi-Fi, but above all with the lesser visible but equally insidious like the I2C.

The current kernel 3.0.101 has been subjected to approx. 50 fixes by our team. On the 3.10.17 considered by the whole world better simply because it is new, but definitely lower performing than the previous version (if not corrected like ours) we fixed about 40 bugs. On the new 4.1.15, recently installed (August 2016), which allows for considerable power reduction (around 30%) and consequent increase in performance due to the elimination of useless operations and the optimization of useful ones, 10 fixes have already been made, such as the LVDS or RGB parallel panel clock which prior to our fixes, did not permit running under the classic XGA 1024 x 768; no small problem as it is more than usual that a customer uses a smaller display. With such untested products how would you do?

Our guarantee of across the board functionality between different Novasom Industries models is absent in the “cloud” versions used by the rest of the world where, in order to pass from a dual to a quad core, you have to rebuild a new kernel and start all over again with your old troubles still to be solved again.