Linux™ | WinCE & WEC7 | Android™ | DSP/BIOS™ & SYS/BIOS™ | RTOS

Operating System Support by Platform

TI's embedded processors are complemented by comprehensive operating system support from both leading high-level operating systems like Linux®, Windows® Embedded Compact and CE, Android™, and real-time operating systems like DSP/BIOS™ kernel, SYS/BIOS™ kernel, Integrity®, QNX®, Nucleus®, and VxWorks®. In addition to free Linux Software Development Kits (SDKs) directly from TI, our partners offer commercially supported Linux distributions and consulting expertise. For more details on the operating system offerings available for TI devices, click on the links in the table below.

> For more information about support, see:

• All TI Developer Network Products & Services
• Wiki - Linux Consultants & Commercial Linux Providers
  

> Download PDF version of table:

• OS Support by Platform Table.pdf

 

Operating Systems

Android

Free Android releases available for TI ARM Cortex™-A8-based devices can be found at www.arowboat.org. Compared to the required multiple steps necessary in Linux, Android provides a ready-made environment that simplifies development of applications with sophisticated multimedia or graphical user interface requirements.

• TI’s Android solutions incorporate accelerated graphics and multimedia support that take full advantage of TI’s silicon capabilities.
• TI has complemented its Android releases with a network of partners with expertise in Android applications, such as Mentor Graphics.
• Developers who desire additional support or expertise can select from a number of Android consulting partners listed on www.arowboat.org.

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TI and its partners provide a complete spectrum of Linux software and services - including free Linux distributions specifically targeted at TI devices, to expert Linux consultants, to commercially supported distributions with sophisticated development tools.

• Free Linux Distributions
  • TI makes available free Linux distributions for its ARM9™ and ARM® Cortex™-A8-based devices with the Software Development Kits (SDK). These distributions are based on the latest available Linux kernels to enable developers the ability to leverage the latest enhancements and bug fixes.
  • TI is committed to having its devices fully supported in the mainstream community trees. The distributions include a fully tested Linux kernel and drivers, U-boot, a root file system with common Linux utilities and applications, and the GCC and GDB development tools from Mentor Graphics (CodeSourcery). Customers have the option to upgrade to Mentor’s commercial tool versions if they desire an IDE or additional support options.
  • For TI devices with video capabilities, the root file system includes the Digital Video SDK (DVSDK) and several video demos to enable faster development of multimedia applications.
  • TI’s distribution offers a low footprint root file system based on the OpenEmbedded environment to reduce overall system cost. Developers can add or remove application packages using the package manager and associated feeds or by tweaking the build recipes.
  • Developers who desire additional support or expertise can choose from TI's extensive network of Linux consulting partners who have experience with a broad range of Linux-related software development including training classes, power management, wireless LAN drivers, GUI development and much more. In addition, you can purchase a commercially supported distribution from a TI partner such as Mentor Graphics, MontaVista, Ridgerun, Timesys, or WindRiver. Whether you are a system integrator, middleware developer or application developer, our partners can assist with streamlining your development cycle to get end products to market fast.

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Windows® Embedded Compact and CE

Microsoft Windows Embedded Compact and CE are operating systems optimized for embedded devices that require minimum storage based on a componentized architecture. Windows Embedded Compact and CE can run in under a megabyte of memory and conform to the definition of a real-time operating system, with deterministic interrupt latency. Designed for use with Microsoft’s Platform Builder and Visual Studio tools, the Windows Embedded Compact and CE OSs allow embedded developers to begin development immediately utilizing a familiar, full-featured environment for embedded design. Developers can easily achieve processing performance beyond General Purpose Processor (GPP) capabilities while using familiar and standard Windows Embedded Compact and CE application programming interfaces (APIs).

• More Info: Windows Embedded Compact and CE Board Support Packages (BSP)
• More Info: Software & Hardware Development Kits for TI Platforms

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DSP/BIOS™ and SYS/BIOS™

DSP/BIOS and SYS/BIOS real-time kernels for TI’s DSP and ARM microprocessor devices are available at no charge and directly supported by TI. They are fully integrated with the Code Composer Studio™ (CCStudio) Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and support both single- and multicore devices.

• DSP/BIOS is compatible with both CCStudio 3.x and 4.x releases and supports all TI DSPs released prior to 2010. For full details of features and device support see the DSP/BIOS software page.
• SYS/BIOS requires CCStudio 4.x or CCStudio v5.x and supports ARM microprocessor and MSP430™ microcontroller devices, in addition to the more recent DSP devices. It also provides numerous additional kernel and debugging features compared to DSP/BIOS kernel. For full details of features and device support see the SYS/BIOS software page.

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RTOS

For applications with hard real-time requirements, such as industrial control, TI has partnered with leading Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) companies to offer a range of solutions. TI’s RTOS partners provide off-the-shelf support for TI devices through products that combine sophisticated development tools with a deterministic run-time that enables a predictable response to real-time events. In addition, each RTOS typically offers a range of pre-integrated stacks, including USB and TCP/IP, which address the standard connectivity requirements faced by modern embedded applications. Each partner has BSPs available for a selection of TI EVMs, enabling developers to be immediately productive right out-of-the-box. For aerospace, industrial, medical, or automotive applications that require specially-certified software, several of TI’s RTOS partners can provide pre-certified tools and RTOS products, significantly reducing the testing requirements of the end customer.

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