Emdebian Grip is a discontinued small-footprint
Linux distribution based on and compatible with
Debian. Compared to Debian, it provides more fine-grained control over the
package selection, size, dependencies and content, enabling that way creation of small and efficient Debian packages for use on resource-limited
embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is ''embedded'' ...
s. As a result, reduced installation size is one of the main benefits coming from the Emdebian Grip.
, the Emdebian Grip project is terminated with no available updates or planned new
releases, leaving the version 3.1, which is based on Debian 7.1 ("wheezy"), as the no longer supported latest
stable release.
Overview
Emdebian Grip re-packs
package files made available by Debian, removing unneeded files such as
man page
A man page (short for manual page) is a form of software documentation usually found on a Unix or Unix-like operating system. Topics covered include computer programs (including library and system calls), formal standards and conventions, and e ...
s, info documents, documentation, and unwanted translation files. As such, Emdebian Grip is a Debian distribution builder; the command (from the package) processes a package
compiled
In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
for any of the
architectures
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
supported by Debian and generates an equivalent Emdebian Grip package. That way, the
binaries
A binary file is a computer file that is not a text file. The term "binary file" is often used as a term meaning "non-text file". Many binary file formats contain parts that can be interpreted as text; for example, some computer document fil ...
, maintainer scripts and dependencies of the original Debian packages are left untouched, but the overall size and the installation footprint of the packages are reduced.
Packages created by Emdebian Grip are not
recompile
In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
d, so they are completely
binary compatible
Binary-code compatibility (binary compatible or object-code-compatible) is a property of a computer system, meaning that it can run the same executable code, typically machine code for a general-purpose computer CPU, that another computer syst ...
with Debian. As a result, Emdebian Grip maintains as much compatibility as possible with Debian; it is even possible to mix Emdebian and Debian packages, or even to migrate an existing Debian system to Emdebian Grip.
Releases
Emdebian Grip provides complete
package repositories for seven architectures: i386, amd64, powerpc, armhf, armel, mips and mipsel. Included is support for standard Debian tools like , and , and there are no functional changes in Emdebian Grip when compared to base Debian releases.
Since version 3.0, all Emdebian Grip suites and codenames include additional "-grip" suffix, compared to their equivalent Debian suites and codenames.
On July 13, 2014, an
end-of-life notice posted on the project's web site announced that updates to Emdebian Grip are stopped, leaving the version 3.1, which is based on Debian 7.1 ("wheezy"), as the no longer supported latest stable release. The main reasons stated as the cause for ending the project were a lack of
embedded device
An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is ''embedded'' as ...
s that do not provide support for expandable
storage, and too much work involved with preparing the updates and releasing new versions.
See also
*
BitBake
BitBake is a make-like build tool with the special focus of distributions and packages for embedded Linux cross compilation, although it is not limited to that. It is inspired by Portage, which is the package management system used by the Gent ...
a make-like build tool focusing on cross-compilation for embedded Linux
*
Comparison of Linux distributions
Technical variations of Linux distributions include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. Organizational differences may be motivated by historical reasons. Other criteria include security, includi ...
compared by the features, support for different architectures, package management, etc.
*
ebuild
Portage is a package management system originally created for and used by Gentoo Linux and also by ChromeOS, Calculate, Sabayon, and Funtoo Linux among others. Portage is based on the concept of ports collections. Gentoo is sometimes referre ...
a specialized bash script for automating compilation and installation of software packages
*
List of Linux distributions
This page provides general information about notable Linux distributions in the form of a categorized list. Distributions are organized into sections by the major distribution or package management system they are based on.
RPM-based
Red Hat ...
categorized by the major base distribution or used package management system
*
OpenEmbedded
OpenEmbedded is a build automation framework and cross-compile environment used to create Linux distributions for embedded devices. The OpenEmbedded framework is developed by the OpenEmbedded community, which was formally established in 2003. Ope ...
a software framework for creating embedded Linux distributions
Notes
References
External links
*
Emdebian support for translation packages (tdebs) November 19, 2014
{{Operating system
Debian-based distributions
X86-64 Linux distributions
Cross-platform software
Linux distributions