> Date: Fri, 25 Dec 2015 21:23:52 -0800
> From: neilwhelc...@gmail.com
> To: emc-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
> Subject: Re: [Emc-developers] Moving closer to embedded
>
> > Can you explain exactly what you mean by embedded?
> > i think you mean like a fanuc or tormach where you turn on the machine and
> > that is all you can see.
> >
> > Yes, along those lines. The point is not so much that as it is
> reliability. It has to "just work", and it has to do so for people that do
> not know much about linux, or computers.
> For example, the system I built has everything in the initrd, so / is
> mounted read only. Part programs, parameters, and tool tables are stored in
> a small partition that is read-write. I added a button that makes a tarball
> from the files on that partition to a raw partition (a backup button).
> When the machine is booted, if the partition fails to mount, it is
> formatted, and the tarball is restored to it. This way, no matter what disk
> corruption may happen, it will always boot, even when the power is yanked
> without a proper shutdown.
>
>
> > > To me, it just seems quite unprofessional to have a desktop looking
> > > environment that is running in a milling machine. Is there some reason
> > that
> > > someone (other than me) has not worked up a distro that is purpose built
> > to
> > > run EMC similar to the way the the folks at MyData made their stuff work?
> >
> > Distro work is a fairly painful and personal opinion work.
> > Nobody really likes to do it. Nobody is happy with all choices made.
> > It's necessary evil.
> >
>
> I have been maintaining distros for embedded systems for over 25 years now.
> That is what I do. My main product is a distro that runs Asterisk in an
> appliance, which I have modified to run Linuxcnc.
>
Then it seems you are the perfect person to to build such a distro.
I was telling _why_ (at least one reason) we don't spend more time on a custom
os.
I know nothing of Asterisk. But I must say having a way to run linuxcnc
'locked and secure' would be excellent on one of my projects, on another i
would prefer the way we have it.
> >
> > > Is there some reason that the user interfaces do not have the features of
> > > an embedded system included such as a button to shutdown or reboot the
> > > system, or even an embedded mode that makes them take over the whole
> > screen?
> >
> > take over the screen yes - gmoccapy any of gscreen and even AXIS can (with
> > a bit of work)
> > Shutdown and reboot surely that can be added - you are the first to ask
> > about it
> > that I know of.
> >
> > Without these features, it is incomplete and it must work in a desktop
> environment. This is the most important thing that stands in the way of
> Linuxcnc being taken seriously by machine builders. It is really the
> defining difference between a commercial system, and a hobby system.
>
>
>
> > > For example, Gmoccapy has a feature in the settings to take over the
> > whole
> > > screen, but it is an option that you can get to via the GUI. For this to
> > be
> > > realistic, this option needs to be in a configuration file that you can
> > not
> > > get to via the GUI.
> >
> > Gmoccapy and gscreen Industrial have that option page hidden behind a
> > security
> > code. It would be easy to make it not pop the security code dialog.
> >
>
> I know about that, but that is not the point. The interface needs to be
> purpose built to take over the system. I will use MyData TpSys as my
> example here.
> -Neil-
>
Hmm another reference I know nothing of.
So far you have said that you need the interface to have shutdown and reboot.
Which could be added fairly easy I am pretty sure.
In fullscreen mode the desktop is not seen.
and you want a stripped down os that is more secure and 'hardened'
against user tinkering.
Your original question asks why we are not working on such things.
I would say that because not many of us are making money making
machines. If I was doing retrofits of machines, selling to manufactures
then I agree i would want an os like you talking of.
supporting different OSes takes effort and it's not fun effort for most.
If your custom OS didn't add much burden to the code and was licenced
properly and you would maintain it .... Maybe the devs would host it.
Personally I would love to see linuxcnc on more machines especially in
industry. I love seeing the videos of guys retrofitting linuxcnc to
old iron in money making shops.
But that is not the official direction of linuxcnc - because it has no official
direction. By far and large linuxcnc is pushed forward by people who
are interested in a particular feature or a particular challenge.
There has been many 'discussions' and a fork over this reality.
I would encourage you to work towards you goal - it sounds like a good
one. I can't say if linuxcnc will embrace it wholeheartedly.
I think being able to make the existing screens act more 'embedded'
would be excellent for the guys retrofitting old iron.
Chris M
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