Wait so systemd is a problem for embedded Linux because... it uses 250MB of RAM? So it's only really a problem for systems where using a mainstream distro probably wouldn't even be a consideration anyway (yocto seems to be popular, as mentioned above). I'm not seeing a strong argument here. At the risk of inviting a parade of "actually, one time at band camp I saved the day with a first-gen raspberry pi zero", how many embedded systems in 2024 are really RAM-limited?
> how many embedded systems in 2024 are really RAM-limited?
A lot. Plenty embedded Linux stuff still ships with 256 MB or 512 MB RAM, and the wishlist for features in the software running on top is always getting longer than initially planned...
But of course the average has moved up, and it's not unusual to see systemd in embedded systems either (while I don't have a number at hand, the 250MB number seems off to me). The space is big, and different constraints and rules at different points in there.
I remember when I used to run gnome 2 (i.e. mate) on a machine with 256mb of ram. It was a full experience and it worked with youtube videos and so on. What are we even doing .
Sure, back when videos were at most 480p/720p that's feasible.
I'm not saying software is any more efficiently written these days but I do think it's important to recognize that just the act of pushing more pixels on its own requires more RAM.
Honestly, no. Prior to 2009 there were almost no 720p videos on the platform. In 2009 Windows 7 came out with a minimum requirement of 1GB RAM (Vista in 2007 also already recommended 1GB). What I'm trying to say is, 1GB wasn't much even before 720p got common. The amount of people watching 720p on systems with less than 1GB has likely always been minuscule.
Thats a weird question, every embedded system that is a consumer product will end up with limited RAM simply because less RAM is a $1 saved on the BOM. For most systems, RAM is a choice, and for many of them someone will ask at the end "how much can we get away with".
(Your WiFi router probably has 256 or 512 MB of RAM)
Except those $2.50 for customer will turn into $2500000.00 for the hardware vendor. And they would rather keep the $2500000.00 and let it be someone else's problem.
(Almost) All the routers that people have in their homes - the ones running OpenWRT - have between 64-256 MB RAM, and no swap. Raspberry Pis are not "embedded", they are cheap, low power consumer devices.
Actually, modern routers typically have 512MB RAM. And RPis absolutely are embedded, not only are they often used for one-off embedded installations due to the 2-day lead time from Amazon, but also the compute module is very popular in industrial control.
