> every embedded Linux device I've been paid to work on in the past five years had over 1GB of RAM. If I'm on a tiny machine where I care about 8MB RSS, I'm not running Linux, I'm running Zypher or FreeRTOS
The gap between “over 1GB of RAM” and 8MB RSS contains the vast majority of embedded Linux devices.
I, too, enjoy when the RAM budget is over 1GB. The majority of cost constrained products don’t allow that, though.
That’s said, it’s more than just RAM. It increases boot times (mentioned in the article) which is a pretty big deal on certain consumer products that aren’t always powered on. The article makes some good points that you’ve waved away because you’ve been working on a different category of devices.
The gap between “over 1GB of RAM” and 8MB RSS contains the vast majority of embedded Linux devices.
I, too, enjoy when the RAM budget is over 1GB. The majority of cost constrained products don’t allow that, though.
That’s said, it’s more than just RAM. It increases boot times (mentioned in the article) which is a pretty big deal on certain consumer products that aren’t always powered on. The article makes some good points that you’ve waved away because you’ve been working on a different category of devices.