This book will focus solely on running a Linux-based software in the BeagleBone. It is possible to run almost any ARM-based software in the BeagleBone but this is outside the scope of the book.
Note
The examples of a few other distributions can be found at http://beagleboard.org/projects. This is not an exhaustive list.
The Linux-based system software comes in different flavors, commonly referred to as distribution. Linux by itself strictly refers to a core piece known as the kernel. A distribution takes the Linux kernel, configures things in a specific way, and then adds other system software pieces.
Note
Linux provides protection between different pieces of software to increase the overall system's robustness. This is done by having a supervisor or a privileged portion and an underprivileged portion. The privileged portion resides mostly in the kernel. The unprivileged portion is typically referred to as userland pieces. Userland pieces are, by default, isolated...