Open Source Summit + Embedded Linux Conference + OSPOCon 2021

Yocto Project is widely used to create software for embedded Linux devices. Likewise, you can use the open source core of Android, the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), in the same way. So, are Yocto and Android equivalent? What are the differences? I have been working on embedded projects using both systems for 10 years now, and I can say with certainty that they are not equivalent, but that both have their strengths and weaknesses. There are many technical differences, and I will describe some of them in the presentation, but the main things I want to focus on are community and project resourcing First, community. Yocto has a strong, mutually supporting community. The development is done in the open, the goals are set by a steering committee and contributions are invited from all. Android is the opposite. It is developed mostly in secret by Google engineers, and they actively discourage contributions from outside Google When it comes to the resources available for developing the system, Android wins by a large margin. I will attempt to draw these various threads together and to give some practical guidelines on where each approach works best, and also to highlight the value of an open community