linux on arm (imx233) need supporting chip to get any real work done

[pmurdock]

I've been toying around with embedded Linux on a freescale imx233. However I would like a bunch of sensors and such and I am not seeing alot of peripherals on these applications processors.

Is it normal to have to add a cortex-m3 or atmel xmega micro to get any real work done in addition to the imx233?

Granted the imx233 gives me alot of communications capabilities by the nature of Linux.. Do people just use the SPI bus to communicate with a micro to gather the data?

Cheers!
Paul

[AndyC_772]

Depends what you mean by 'real work', but if you need access to peripherals and interfaces that aren't built in to the processor you're using, then a separate one to add those capabilities wouldn't be a bad idea. Another option is to see if there's a related part that does include the interfaces you need.

Many, if not most, processors are developed to suit a particular target market, and incorporate a set of peripherals which are a good fit for that market. If you need anything a bit out of the ordinary, then it's pretty normal to end up with a design that's less simple and elegant than you might have hoped.

If this job were easy, any fool could do it - and I'd be out of work!

[pmurdock]

Thanks.. indeed I  beginning to understand the complexities.  It appears that in general to get a good linux capable processor one sacrifices a lot of peripherals that one would normally find on a microcontroller.

Cheers!