Erlang/OTP on the BeagleBone

What is Erlang?

Erlang is a programming language used to build massively scalable soft real-time systems with requirements on high availability (5-9’s). Some of its uses are in telecoms, banking, e-commerce, computer telephony and instant messaging. Erlang’s runtime system has built-in support for concurrency, distribution and fault tolerance.

What is OTP?

OTP is a set of Erlang libraries and design principles providing middle-ware to develop these systems. It includes its own distributed database, applications to interface towards other languages, debugging and release handling tools.

What is the Nerves Project?

The Nerves project provides an embedded Linux-based environment for running Erlang and an easy-to-use API to access common I/O interfaces.

If you are interested in running an Erlang node on a low power ARM-based board this project can get you started.

We are initially developing on the BeagleBone, which provides both low cost and high functionality.

Current Features

1. Ready to use MicroSD card image to quickly get started using Erlang on the BeagleBone
2. Easy kernel and system package configuration using Buildroot
3. Configurable and subsettable compilation of Erlang/OTP to minimize system footprint
4. HiPE support (Experimental)
5. Configurable system installation of popular Erlang libraries such as Mochiweb
6. Open source development for all components