Re:Ask HN: Why is the software ecosystem of single-board com...
by busterarm on Sunday December 27, 2015 @11:35PM
(#10799880)
Something like QNX would be a fantastic alternative to Linux, in my mind.
The problem, as I understand it, is that Broadcomm _refuses_ to supply a hardware manual for their SoC/peripherals...so nobody is willing to take on the challenge of developing a BSP for the Pi.
Linux wins by default.
Aside: One company did do a primative port, but here's their statement about it: "This is a very primitive BSP presently but capability can be expanded (to some degree) per user needs. Due to the lack of hardware manual from Broadcom, I heard no one wanted to develop QNX BSP for Raspberry Pi. Our Vietnamese engineer friends have gone through incredibly hard development without any hardware manual. They had to reverse engineer hardware spec from reference code. Now Broadcom and Avago merged we will see what happens to the documentation situation.
"
The problem, as I understand it, is that Broadcomm _refuses_ to supply a hardware manual for their SoC/peripherals...so nobody is willing to take on the challenge of developing a BSP for the Pi.
Linux wins by default.
Aside: One company did do a primative port, but here's their statement about it: "This is a very primitive BSP presently but capability can be expanded (to some degree) per user needs. Due to the lack of hardware manual from Broadcom, I heard no one wanted to develop QNX BSP for Raspberry Pi. Our Vietnamese engineer friends have gone through incredibly hard development without any hardware manual. They had to reverse engineer hardware spec from reference code. Now Broadcom and Avago merged we will see what happens to the documentation situation. "