<PRE> Hi all:-) I just saw this post in another list that I subscribe to. This other list is mainly concerned with different industry standards and lately I have seen a lot of linux related posts on it. Not sure due to bandwidth if I did the right thing in forwarding this message to this list. But, it does say quite a bit about the capabilities of Linux in general so......:=) -- cya l8r Leon McClatchey leonmcclatchey@homemail.com Linux User 78912 (Win95 Box) </PRE> -- BEGIN included message</EM></P> <BLOCKQUOTE> <UL> <LI>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:AUTOMATION@mind.control.com">AUTOMATION@mind.control.com</A></LI> <LI>Subject</em>: Re: SOFT, PC: Linux in industry??</LI> <LI>From</em>: List Management Account <<A HREF="mailto:listm@CTHULHU.CONTROL.COM">listm@CTHULHU.CONTROL.COM</A>></LI> <LI>Date</em>: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 16:43:07 -0500</LI> <LI>Approved-By</em>: listm@CTHULHU.CONTROL.COM</LI> <LI>Comments</em>: To: automation@cthulhu.control.com</LI> <LI>Reply-To</em>: "The Automation mailing list, managed by Control Technology Corporation" <<A HREF="mailto:AUTOMATION@mind.control.com">AUTOMATION@mind.control.com</A>></LI> <LI>Sender</em>: "The Automation mailing list, managed by Control Technology Corporation" <<A HREF="mailto:AUTOMATION@mind.control.com">AUTOMATION@mind.control.com</A>></LI> </UL> <PRE> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1998 23:10:24 -0600 From: Curt Wuollet <cwuollet@ecenet.com> To: "The Automation mailing list" <AUTOMATION@CONTROL.COM> Subject: Re: SOFT, PC: Linux in industry?? Hi, all; Actually, if people were to want one OS across the board, Linux would have a better chance than anything else. It offers much better stabiliity than anything MS, realtime facilities (several flavors), it can mount and write to MS filesystems, UNIX filesystems, Novell, Apple, and offers excellent programming facilities. Ethernet, serial, ATM, ISDN, 3780, SCSI,...... and the list goes on. In short whatever you have now on the corporate side, Linux can talk to it. I use it regularly as the display device for Cimplicity. Implimenting the many diverse and bizzarre proprietary fieldbus protocols would be much easier with example drivers and source code available than under closed proprietary systems like NT. For example, I can write directly to a Cimplicity database. ( Of course, I haven't done that :^) ) I think it would make an excellent "all in one" realtime with HMI system, kinda like what they are doing with NT, minus the big bucks and the crashes. It would also excel as a cell controller, providing I/O, logic, and coordination for several machines. NIST has even got a project using Linux for robot and NMC functions. I haven't heard anything negative about the tasks that Linux has been put to, just a lot of FUD about support. If you're technical enough to work with this stuff and you have the source, you don't need support. Anything that comes up is less hassle to fix yourself than it is to find someone who knows what you are talking about in typical phone support situations. (there are exceptions) I see it as a solution to many problems, not the least of which is the proprietary "tower of babel". If all the standards are available at no extra cost, people would be encouraged to standardize. If people could just control their knee jerk reactions, based on what UNIX was ten years ago with it's many flavors and high costs, and try to see the possibilities, the inevitable would happen sooner. Look at it this way, with 34 million less lines of code, it's just a better idea for critical systems space for flames Curt Wuollet Linux Systems Engineer Heartland Engineering Co Sam Moore Square D Company/Groupe Shneider wrote:

I think it comes down to support cost. Each type of technology that is installed requires training and often replacement parts. No one wants to add another type of technology to the mix unless they absolutely have to. This goes for anything, but especially computing technology which is quickly converging on off-the-shelf components.

If a shop can standardize on Linux and develop a migration plan that will eliminate other operating systems then they will be much more willing to take it on. In the short-term, this should be appealing to shops that are running a number of different UNIX flavors.

But why not go for it all? Certainly, no one expects a facility to go to Linux for everything. That just won't happen. Given that, why not try to have one operating system to support rather than two: NT and Linux.

Even if companies do provide support for Linux seldom do you see them drop NT support. It is one thing for Opto22 to support a Linux device driver. It is another thing for them to switch their emphasis from NT to Linux.

Ultimately, the data needs to get to the corporate desktop which is Windows-based. Look at documentation from companies like Opto22 and you will see them promoting their ability to easily share information with Windows desktop applications. If Opto22's products work on NT, an operating system I already have to support, then why do I want to train/hire people to support Linux?

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