Comment by krater23
11 hours ago
Okay, what is fully open? Do you really think the head unit developer would hand you over a huge developer documentation about every bit in the software?
I'm freelancer and helped to develop some head units. I have a surprize for you: This documentation mostly doesn't exsists. Most of the time there are some chip datasheets and requirement documents, depending on the customer(car manufacturer) they are good or bad and then are some partly outdated wiki pages written down for some important special things. You learn all other stuff out of the code or from your colleagues.
Wait two years and the most knowledge is gone, except of the things that are used for the next head unit.
Yeah, that's the status quo.
The biggest advantage actual developers have is access to the NDA'd vendor docs and the official SDKs. And, the vendor docs are bad and the official SDKs are a mess. Internal documentation? You'd be lucky if it's two steps above "nonexistent". It's usually just one step.
I mean, yes. I would like to know that because it’s an unacceptable state of affairs from my perspective. If the production line relied on just always having someone working who remembered things instead of a proper solution to the Hit By a Bus problem I wouldn’t be buying that brand. It is my anecdata, uninformed opinion much of IT for cars is below average development. I started to wonder about this when I got a hold of two USB images to update a Chevy Camaro in 2010 (open driver’s side door between keys to indicate you were about to install the second USB key) and it feels weird to me this is still so poorly secured. Between the Hyundai/ Kia theft is sue a couple years back and my own experience with multiple long-standing bugs in our Hyundai’s infotainment system, I am suspicious of this ever being fixed.