Because from the popularity of Linux, there is already numerous application vendors that provide releases of Linux aimed at Embedded System. These vendors typically offer technical support programs for Linux that is geared toward Embedded Systems development. This support includes bug fixes for Linux variations that might be years old and assistance with ports to embedded devices.
There is more and more software package offered for Linux. Not just open-source software package, but third-party application programs and protocol stack as properly. The number of device drivers offered for Linux is large and growing and the source code for Linux device drivers is almost always free. Linux has a good reputation for reliability on servers, and it has good network and file system performance.
The programming interface for Linux is UNIX. A main reason Linux has so much software package readily available for it is that Linux uses the UNIX application programming interface as properly as UNIX object and executable file formats. Much from the public-domain and open-source computer software from the last two decades has been written for UNIX and is now readily available for Linux. Also, third-party software program builders have been providing products for flavours of UNIX for years such as AIX from IBM, Solaris™ from Sun Microsystems, and HP/UX from Hewlett-Packard. It was a simple matter for these application vendors to port their products to Linux. This also means that there are programmers experienced on writing UNIX computer software that already have the expertise to write Linux software package.
Not only could be the source code to Linux free, but run-times of Linux are royalty- free. For high-volume Embedded Systems with tight per-unit cost constraints, having no royalty payments for the embedded working system is incredibly attractive. It saves money that would go to royalty payments and eliminates the overhead for keeping track of the number of run-times shipped.
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