MiniGUI
Encyclopedia
MiniGUI is a GUI
system with support for real-time
and embedded operating systems, and aims to be fast, stable, light-weight and cross-platform
. It was first released under the GNU GPL in 1999, and has since offered a commercial version with more features, including support for operating systems other than Linux
and eCos
. MiniGUI has been widely used in handheld terminals, portable media players, and industry instruments.
based on Linux. The project was developed independently under the GNU GPL until September 2002, when the developers founded Feynman Software Technology and began commercial marketing of the software.
On October 2003, MiniGUI was ported to µClinux and eCos
.
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
system with support for real-time
Real-time computing
In computer science, real-time computing , or reactive computing, is the study of hardware and software systems that are subject to a "real-time constraint"— e.g. operational deadlines from event to system response. Real-time programs must guarantee response within strict time constraints...
and embedded operating systems, and aims to be fast, stable, light-weight and cross-platform
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
. It was first released under the GNU GPL in 1999, and has since offered a commercial version with more features, including support for operating systems other than 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...
and eCos
ECos
eCos is an open source, royalty-free, real-time operating system intended for embedded systems and applications which need only one process with multiple threads. It is designed to be customizable to precise application requirements of run-time performance and hardware needs...
. MiniGUI has been widely used in handheld terminals, portable media players, and industry instruments.
History
MiniGUI was started by Wei Yongming as a simple interface for a control systemControl system
A control system is a device, or set of devices to manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other devices or system.There are two common classes of control systems, with many variations and combinations: logic or sequential controls, and feedback or linear controls...
based on Linux. The project was developed independently under the GNU GPL until September 2002, when the developers founded Feynman Software Technology and began commercial marketing of the software.
On October 2003, MiniGUI was ported to µClinux and eCos
ECos
eCos is an open source, royalty-free, real-time operating system intended for embedded systems and applications which need only one process with multiple threads. It is designed to be customizable to precise application requirements of run-time performance and hardware needs...
.
Features
- Support for many embedded operating systems, including LinuxLinuxLinux 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...
and its derivative µClinux, eCosECoseCos is an open source, royalty-free, real-time operating system intended for embedded systems and applications which need only one process with multiple threads. It is designed to be customizable to precise application requirements of run-time performance and hardware needs...
, VxWorksVxWorksVxWorks is a real-time operating system developed as proprietary software by Wind River Systems of Alameda, California, USA. First released in 1987, VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems.- History :...
, pSOSPSOSpSOS is a real time operating system , created in about 1982 by Alfred Chao, and developed/marketed for the first part of its life by his company Software Components Group...
, ThreadXThreadXThreadX, developed and marketed by Express Logic, Inc. of San Diego, California, USA, is a real-time operating system . Similar RTOSes are available from other vendors such as VxWorks, Nucleus RTOS, OSE, QNX, LynxOS, etc...
and NucleusNucleus RTOSNucleus OS is a real-time operating system and toolset created by the Embedded Systems Division of Mentor Graphics for various central processing unit platforms. Nucleus OS is an embedded software solution and is in an estimated 2.11 billion devices worldwide.Development is typically done on a... - Support for embedded resources and as a result devices without file systems
- Compatibility with WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
resource file formatFile formatA file format is a particular way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file.Since a disk drive, or indeed any computer storage, can store only bits, the computer must have some way of converting information to 0s and 1s and vice-versa. There are different kinds of formats for...
s including iconsICO (icon image file format)The ICO file format is an image file format for computer icons in Microsoft Windows. ICO files contain one or more small images at multiple sizes and color depths, such that they may be scaled appropriately...
and cursors. - SkinSkin (computing)In computing, a skin is a custom graphical appearance achieved by the use of a graphical user interface that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users....
support - Support for many character sets, including ISO8859 and BIG5Big5Big-5 or Big5 is a character encoding method used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau for Traditional Chinese characters.Mainland China, which uses Simplified Chinese Characters, uses the GB instead.- Organization :...