CE Linux Forum
Encyclopedia
The Consumer Electronics Linux Forum (CELF) is a non-profit organization
that works to advance Linux
as an open source
platform for consumer electronics
(CE) devices. It has a primarily technical focus, working on specifications, implementations, conferences and testing to help Linux developers improve Linux for use in CE products.
Corporation and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (also known as Panasonic
). CELF was founded in June 2003 by several large consumer electronics companies, including Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., Sony Corporation, Hitachi Ltd., NEC Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sharp Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation. As of 2009 CELF has about 30 members, consisting of consumer electronics manufacturers, semiconductor vendors, and Linux software companies.
ARM Ltd., AXE, Inc., Broadcom,
Canon Inc.,
ETRI,
Fujitsu Limited,
Fuji-Xerox,
Hewlett-Packard,
Hitachi, Ltd.,
IBM
,
Intel Corporation
,
JustSystems Corporation,
LG Electronics,
Lineo Solutions, Inc,
Panasonic Corporation,
MIPS Technologies,
NEC Corporation,
NXP Semiconductors,
Renesas,
Royal Philips Electronics,
Samsung Electronics,
Selenic Consulting,
Sharp Corporation,
SnapGear,
Sony Corporation,
Toshiba Corporation,
Yamaha Corporation
1. Audio, Video and Graphics
2. Bootup Time
3. Digital Television Profile
4. Memory Management
5. Mobile Phone Profile
6. Power Management
7. Real Time
8. Security
9. System Size
These working groups collect improvements to Linux and Linux-related software from CELF members, and help members coordinate on projects to enhance Linux in their respective technical areas.
The forum encourages its members to submit technical output directly back to the relevant open source project (for example, by sending enhancements to the Linux kernel directly to the Linux kernel mailing list, or to an appropriate technology- or architecture-specific mailing list.) Collected information and forum output is primarily located on the forum's wiki for embedded developers
CELF hosts the eLinux.org wiki, a wiki dedicated to Embedded Linux.
, Austria
; in 2008 with the NLUUG
in Ede, Netherlands
; and in 2009 with Embedded Systems Week in Grenoble
. The 2009 and 2010 spring conferences in the Americas were co-organized with the Linux Foundation
.
CELF sponsored the Linux Symposium
from 2004 to 2008, hosting BoFs and sessions specific to embedded use of Linux and development of Linux capabilities for embedded use.
In Japan and Korea, CELF organizes Technical Jamborees every two months. Jamborees are smaller, have a single track, and are held in the local language.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that works to advance Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
as an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
platform for consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
(CE) devices. It has a primarily technical focus, working on specifications, implementations, conferences and testing to help Linux developers improve Linux for use in CE products.
Initiatives Overview
CELF has several key initiatives, including:- a set of technical working groups, which produce specifications and implementations (usually patches against existing open source projects) to enhance Linux suitability for CE products
- hosting of conferences dedicated to embedded Linux (see below)
- providing hardware resources to open source developers
- funding for direct feature development, via contracting with a few Linux developers
- a test lab in San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The forum is an outgrowth of a joint project between SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Corporation and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (also known as Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
). CELF was founded in June 2003 by several large consumer electronics companies, including Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., Sony Corporation, Hitachi Ltd., NEC Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sharp Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation. As of 2009 CELF has about 30 members, consisting of consumer electronics manufacturers, semiconductor vendors, and Linux software companies.
Membership
http://www.celinux.org/membership_list/ARM Ltd., AXE, Inc., Broadcom,
Canon Inc.,
ETRI,
Fujitsu Limited,
Fuji-Xerox,
Hewlett-Packard,
Hitachi, Ltd.,
IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
,
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
,
JustSystems Corporation,
LG Electronics,
Lineo Solutions, Inc,
Panasonic Corporation,
MIPS Technologies,
NEC Corporation,
NXP Semiconductors,
Renesas,
Royal Philips Electronics,
Samsung Electronics,
Selenic Consulting,
Sharp Corporation,
SnapGear,
Sony Corporation,
Toshiba Corporation,
Yamaha Corporation
Technical Working Groups and Output
As of 2007, CELF had the following technical working groups:1. Audio, Video and Graphics
2. Bootup Time
3. Digital Television Profile
4. Memory Management
5. Mobile Phone Profile
6. Power Management
7. Real Time
8. Security
9. System Size
These working groups collect improvements to Linux and Linux-related software from CELF members, and help members coordinate on projects to enhance Linux in their respective technical areas.
The forum encourages its members to submit technical output directly back to the relevant open source project (for example, by sending enhancements to the Linux kernel directly to the Linux kernel mailing list, or to an appropriate technology- or architecture-specific mailing list.) Collected information and forum output is primarily located on the forum's wiki for embedded developers
Community Projects
The CE Linux Forum also has sponsorships to bring embedded projects to fruition. Thanks to grants from CELF, amongst others the LinuxTiny patches and the LogFS and SquashFS flash file systems have been pushed to mainline Linux.CELF hosts the eLinux.org wiki, a wiki dedicated to Embedded Linux.
Conferences and Jamborees
The forum has been the driving force behind the Embedded Linux Conference since 2005. Originally started as a conference in the USA in spring, there now also is a yearly ELC Europe in the Autumn time frame. Both conferences are very developer-focused and usually attract 150-200 Linux engineers. ELC is an English-language conferencewith several parallel tracks and lasts 2 or 3 days. The European conference has always been co-hosted: in 2007 it was hosted with the Real-time Linux Workshop in LinzLinz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
; in 2008 with the NLUUG
NLUUG
NLUUG is an association of professional UNIX / Linux users in the Netherlands. The group aims to increase and extend the awareness and use of Open Standards and similar open systems and Open Source.The NLUUG also maintains one of the larger FTP mirrors in the world, and is the prime FTP site for...
in Ede, Netherlands
Ede, Netherlands
' is a municipality and a town in the center of the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland.- Population centres :Community :* Bennekom: 14.749* De Klomp: 508* Deelen: 50* Ede : 67.812* Ederveen: 3.167* Harskamp: 3.464...
; and in 2009 with Embedded Systems Week in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
. The 2009 and 2010 spring conferences in the Americas were co-organized with the Linux Foundation
Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is a non-profit technology consortium chartered to foster the growth of Linux.Founded in 2007 by the merger of the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group , the Linux Foundation sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and is supported by leading...
.
CELF sponsored the Linux Symposium
Linux Symposium
The Linux Symposium is a Linux and Open Source conference held annually in Canada. It features 100+ paper presentations, tutorials, birds of a feather sessions and mini summits on a wide range of topics...
from 2004 to 2008, hosting BoFs and sessions specific to embedded use of Linux and development of Linux capabilities for embedded use.
In Japan and Korea, CELF organizes Technical Jamborees every two months. Jamborees are smaller, have a single track, and are held in the local language.