OpenZaurus is a defunct embedded

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

for the

Sharp Zaurus The Sharp Zaurus is the name of a series of personal digital assistants (PDAs) made by Sharp Corporation. The Zaurus was the most popular PDA during the 1990s in Japan and was based on a proprietary operating system. The first Sharp PDA to use t ...

personal mobile tool

PDA PDA may refer to: Science and technology * Patron-driven acquisition, a mechanism for libraries to purchase books *Personal digital assistant, a mobile device * Photodiode array, a type of detector * Polydiacetylenes, a family of conducting poly ...

History

In its original form, the project was a repackaging of the SharpROM, the Zaurus's factory supplied

kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learnin ...

and root filesystem image. In order to make the Zaurus's OS closer to the needs of the

developer Developer may refer to: Computers * Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications * Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games * Web d ...

community, the SharpROM was altered through the use of

bugfix A patch is a set of changes to a computer program or its supporting data designed to update, fix, or improve it. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, with such patches usually being called bugfixes or bug fixes. Patches ...

es, software additions, and even removals in order to make the package more open. The OpenZaurus project was revamped completely, becoming Debian-based built from source, from the ground up. Due to the change in direction, OpenZaurus became quite similar to other embedded Debian-based distributions, such as

Familiar In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to re ...

for the

iPAQ The iPAQ is a discontinued Pocket PC and personal digital assistant which was first unveiled by Compaq in April 2000. HP's line-up of iPAQ devices included PDA-devices, smartphones and GPS-navigators. A substantial number of devices were ...

. OpenZaurus, in its current form, facilitates an easy method for users to build their own custom images. The efforts of Openzaurus, along with other embedded Linux projects, were integrated into the

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 ...

Project, which now provides the common framework for these projects.

Variants

In addition to building a custom OpenZaurus image using OpenEmbedded metadata, The OpenZaurus distribution can be acquired in three variations for each version release. * Bootstrap: A minimal, console based image with a working root filesystem, and networking over

SSH The Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. Its most notable applications are remote login and command-line execution. SSH applications are based on ...

WLAN A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a wireless computer network that links two or more devices using wireless communication to form a local area network (LAN) within a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, campus, or office building ...

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

, or

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

. Suitable for

bootstrapping In general, bootstrapping usually refers to a self-starting process that is supposed to continue or grow without external input. Etymology Tall boots may have a tab, loop or handle at the top known as a bootstrap, allowing one to use fingers ...

a larger, X11 system. * GPE: Everything the Bootstrap image contains, plus the X Window System and the

GTK+ GTK (formerly GIMP ToolKit and GTK+) is a free and open-source cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs). It is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License, allowing both free and proprie ...

based

GPE Palmtop Environment GPE (a recursive acronym for GPE Palmtop Environment) is a graphical user interface environment for handheld computers, such as palmtops and personal digital assistants (PDAs), running some Linux kernel-based operating system. GPE is a complete ...

. * OPIE: Everything the Bootstrap image contains and the Qt based OPIE Palmtop Integrated Environment.

Status

On April 26, 2007, it was announced that the OpenZaurus project was over. Future development efforts are to focus on the

Ångström distribution The Ångström distribution is a defunct Linux distribution for a variety of embedded devices. The distribution is the result of work by developers from the OpenZaurus, OpenEmbedded, and OpenSIMpad projects. The graphical user interfaces (GU ...

for

embedded systems 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 ...

References

External links

*
Hentges.net OZ with updated OPIE releases
{{DEFAULTSORT:Openzaurus ARM Linux distributions Personal digital assistant software Debian-based distributions Embedded Linux distributions Operating systems using GPE Palmtop Environment Linux distributions

History

Variants

Status

See also

References

External links