Open Source在嵌入式系统开发中的使用

关于Why – 为什么要使用open source software

个人对于open source的接触，是开始于3年前的汽车项目。那么为什么要使用开源的源代码呢？这是我们首先要想明白和思考的问题。
直接的回答是，站在巨人的肩膀上。也许不是巨人，但至少是前人的肩膀上。开源软件一般都有社区维护，贡献者众多。也汲取了大家的智慧。另外还有，可以缩短开发的周期；免费也是一个原因，可以降低初始阶段开发成本。但需要注意的是，在决定开源代码的选择时，就不在是免费的了。后续就需要持续的开发投入了，还包括培训和维护。
当然，开源代码也有些弊端。对于维护状态活跃度不高的开源项目，基本没有后期的维护。并且缺少必要的相关技术文档。对于有持续演进和维护的软件来讲，这两点是比较重要的。
Anyway， 总的来时是利大于弊的。通过在开源社区的项目观察，可以看出。软件的开源，开源社区的管理，于开源社区的合作这两年正在中国如火如荼的开展着。之前听说，有的高校会有open source/open source community的相关专业。
本人用的比较多的开源代码托管服务平台，一个是国外的github(发现国内打不开了); 一个是国内的gitee.

关于How – Selecting the right open source Component

知道了开源软件的好处，那么我们应该怎么做来选择合适的开源软件呢。
Kepner Tregoe(KT) Matrix 提供了一种step by step的从，

1. Situation appraisal – 状况评估
2. Problem Analysis – 问题分析
3. Decision Analysis – 决策分析
4. Potential Problem Analysis – 潜在问题分析

KT Matrixes 限制了我们在做选择时有意识或无意识的偏见，从而引导我们不偏离我们选着开源软件要实现的主要需求目标。

嵌入式开发常用的开源软件举例：

1. Free RTOS link
   Real-time operating system (RTOS) for microcontrollers licensed under the MIT. Supports over 40 different architectures with supporting libraries and integrations.
   

2. OpenCV link
   OpenCV is an open source computer vision and machine learning software library. It is licensed under BSD-3. OpenCV is designed to accelerate the use of machine perception in the commercial products.
   

3. FatFS link
   FatFS is a generic FAT/exFAT filesystem module for small embedded systems. The library is supported by more than a dozen microcontroller architectures and is often integrated in auto generation tools.
   

4. Yocto link
   The Yocto Project is an open source collaboration project that provides templates, tools and methods to create custom Linux-based systems for embedded system deployments
   

关于What – 使用open source software的具体注意事项

Best Practices - Open Source Software

1. Select software that has an active community, not a one-off example.
2. Perform a software audit and quality analysis.
3. Have the license reviewed by an attorney.
4. Use an abstraction layer to remove dependencies.
5. Leverage integrated software when possible to minimize issues.
6. Build an acceptable testing process to verify the software’s robustness.
7. Be extremely careful when upgrading to a new software version
8. Carefully read any existing documentation and example code.
9. Perform an unbiased analysis to determine if the software is right for you.
10. Try it in your target application space before “buying it”.

另外，关于Open Source Architecture Integration有两个注意事项：

Atypical embedded software application

• Avoid tightly coupling your application code with your libraries
  

• We can selectively swap out a component without having to update and change our application code
  *Before:
  
  *After: