Python on NXP i.mx 8 series based system - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: maxpayne
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2022, 10:14:43 am
content: I am planning to design a hardware based on i.mx 8 series SOM. I would like to know how Python performs on this platform.Do you face any issues or is there any known issues ?

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 03:38:40 pm
content: Which OS are you going to use? Which SOM?

author: maxpayne
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 04:36:38 pm
content: Linuxhttps://www.solid-run.com/embedded-industrial-iot/nxp-i-mx8-family/imx8m-plus-som/

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 07:29:04 pm
content: The iMX8 runs stable and it is pretty quick. Whether it has enough processing power depends on your application. The only way to know for sure is by evaluating it. I strongly recommend to run Debian on it and stay away from yocto.

author: TC
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2022, 01:03:42 pm
content: I'm curious about your reasons for the recommendation to stay away from Yocto. I have no opinion or agenda on the topic. Just curious about your rationale.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2022, 04:38:17 pm
content: Quote from: TC on July 23, 2022, 01:03:42 pmYocto has an extremely steep learning curve to get to understand on how to tailor a Linux distribution (add / remove packages). Buildroot is easier to understand but nowadays it is much easier to simply run Debian. Several SOM (system on module) manufacturers offer simple scripts that create a Debian image in a matter of minutes. Adding / removing packages is typically very easy; just specify the packages that are wanted in the script. And if you need a package later on, just use apt-get to install it on the board itself.

author: TC
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2022, 12:21:23 pm
content: Thanks for the rationale. I've never used Debian so I have no practical experience to offer. I've used Yocto once and you are right about the steep learning curve (at least for me). A friend and I had to patch a kernel driver and it was a royal pain to get it done.Your comments about Debian made me curious and so I'm in search of white papers or references that make a comparison. I found a brief summary titled "Yocto/Debian Comparison White Paper" fromwww.prevas.dkbut the link was quite cryptic so I thought it was best not to post a direct link here. You can search for it however.It seems to make many of the same points you made... but also gives a strong contrarian view. I'm not sure how true the views contained in the white paper are. I'm just trying to learn more about this.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2022, 04:33:55 pm
content: I've found the white paper. IMHO they are severely underestimating the NRE costs involved especially if there is no prior knowledge of Yocto or buildroot. Count on needing 400 to 500 hours to learn Yocto / buildroot to a sufficient level versus 40 to 50 hours to get Debian going including tailoring services. You'll likely need to sell in the 50k+ devices to make up for the difference in storage device costs. NRE costs are commonly overlooked; don't make that mistake!The only real advantage of Yocto is being able to make a smaller sized root filesystem but you can cut a Debian installation down a lot by removing unneeded services and not including all the documentation. The same goes for the boot time. In the end you are launching exactly the same services but boot time increases with unnecessary services -ofcourse- which is not a downside of Debian by itself but just a matter of customisation which in the end is easier to achieve using Debian.I strongly disagree that Debian isn't suitable for production releases. There are lots of embedded devices out there that run just fine using Debian. On top of that, there is a much larger online support ecosystem for Debian versus Yocto / buildroot.