I have seen this question asked before, but I have not seen a fair answer…
Since the new PIC is considerably powerful, is it feasible to port the Linux kernel to it, and if one were to start porting, where would one start?
I only ask because it seems like a fun thing to do, not because there is any rational reason I can think of to do something like this.
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While the new pic is fast compared to the BS2, it can’t handle linux.
First of all, it’s not a 32 (or greater) bit cpu. Second, it’s still slower then a 386. 3rd, linux requires megabytes of ram, we get 1800 bytes.
If you did some considerable mods to the controller, then yes you could possibly run a TINY TINY embedded Linux (like the one from Japan that’s the most popular OS on Earth). It wouldn’t be anything that would do anything special that you couldn’t use the PIC programming for, but it would be novel. You’d need to add some external EPROM and a few other things. I don’t see it being possible (because of the way the board is made) but if your team has an extra controller for some reason then it might be something you could try…?
The reason I say this is even possible is that these processors are based on the RISC architecture…but I’m not sure if 10MIPS is enough to handle even the teeny embedded Linux.
I would assume that you are talking about ITRON (which was featured on slashdot on the 19th). It is not based on linux in any way.
There are RTOS that are designed for the pic. Here are two that came up in the first two pages in google: http://www.testech-elect.com/hitech/salvos.htm http://www.realogy.com/realtime.shtml
It would still take a lot of work to port the IFI stuff to one of those RTOS.
*Originally posted by Joe Ross *
**I would assume that you are talking about ITRON (which was featured on slashdot on the 19th). It is not based on linux in any way.
**
Aye that’s the one…could’ve sworn that it was Linux based. That’s probably because if /. ever makes mention of an OS other than Windows it’s usually Linux. 
*Originally posted by Joe Ross *
It would still take a lot of work to port the IFI stuff to one of those RTOS.
More work than you could probably accomplish before they release a new, more powerful controller 
Would it be possible to run 2 or 3 pics in parallel? That will split up the amount of data each needs to process, and it will double or triple the available ram.
*Originally posted by xplod1236 *
**Would it be possible to run 2 or 3 pics in parallel? That will split up the amount of data each needs to process, and it will double or triple the available ram. **
I suppose this might be possible if you were using a specialized board, but it’s highly unlikely you could get anything like this to work with the IFI boards…
I’m not sure why you’d want to do that. The PIC’s support adding external EPROM which would be a much easier process that trying to find a way to make a PIC array…
One other RTOS for the pic is http://www.ucos-ii.com/
It comes with full source code for the OS and a port for the PIC18F852. I agree with Joe that it would be quite an effort to get it working with the IFI code.