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Different people want to reduce the size of the Linux kernel for different reasons. This page holds a few use cases for a small Linux kernel, as a means of illustrating some of the requirements and possibilities for this "feature" of the kernel.
Linux as a bootloader
Linux can be used on some devices at the primary bootloader. The size requirements on the first-stage bootloader are more stringent than for the ultimate running operating system.
There are projects along these lines, such as the barebox project (is this right?)
Requirements
- want a small flash and ram footprint (how small?)
- depending on the platform, may need to read the "main" filesystem of the machine
Linux in the Internet of Things
There is currently a migration from 8-bit micro-controllers to 32-bit micro-controllers in the deeply embedded space. These types of processors are used in industrial automation, sensors, infrastructure, and more…
Requirements
- would be nice for low-power solutions to avoid DRAM completely. This usually means that the entire system should fit entirely in on-chip static RAM.
(someone should fill this part in…)
