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Rahul (rahul.thakur@×××××××××.nz) scribbled: |
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> I am an absolute n00b with respect to Embedded development and I have been |
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> googl'ing for some days now to find some starters resources for getting |
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> started with embedded development but not happy with results. |
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Somewhat similar situation here. The first thing I had to realize is |
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that there was _no_ cookie-cutter method to embedded development. I've |
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seen it described as a "black art", and honestly, that's pretty on the |
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mark. Each target (pda, processor, board, whatever) needs to have a |
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toolchain, a c library, a kernel, a root environment, etc. All tuned to |
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that particular target. |
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I would suggest picking one target and doing a project for it first. There |
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are a lot of devices entering the market with high potential for being |
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targets. Hell, just on my desk I have a wrt54g wireless router(mips?), a |
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nslu2 network storage appliance (ARM XScale), a sharp zaurus (ARM XScale), |
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and an ipod (ARM no mmu). At work I have an embedded PowerPC board. |
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Way too many distractions. :) |
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And unfortunately, the powerpc board at work takes priority. There's no |
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challenge with it though as it already has a serial console (no need to |
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solder), and we got the TimeSys toolchain with it. |
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> I have a few queries: |
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> (1) How can I set up my gentoo installation for embedded development ? Does |
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> gentoo comes with embedded development tools ? |
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Simple answer: Yes, but not like emerging a package. Gentoo has crossdev, |
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which is a script for building cross-toolchains, but it takes a bit of work |
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to get success. google for 'crossdev', search bugs.gentoo.org, and the forums. |
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There are other scripts available out there in the wild. Hunt around |
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uclibc.org, especially if you want to use uclibc (small substitute for |
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glibc). |
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> (2) Where can I find literature to get started with embedded development on |
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> linux ? Where can I get tools and manuals ? |
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Busybox, uclibc, crossdev, and crosstool are a few good keywords. |
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O'Reilly (Publisher) has a book or two on embedded development. You may |
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want to sign up for the crossgcc mailinglist. |
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> (3) I am interested in developing for handhelds/PDAs using linux as an OS. |
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> Are there any emulators available that I can set up to develop for a |
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> particular target device ? |
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With the price of targets coming down, most folks just buy the |
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target. I haven't seen a mention of any emulators. However, keep in |
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mind, I'm about as new as you are. |
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Side note: I was spoiled with Gentoo being within a day or two of |
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current releases. The embedded world doesn't seem to move that fast. |
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Be prepared to try older versions of packages when building your |
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toolchains. |
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hth, |
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Cooper. |
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Sorry for the ramble... :) |
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-- |
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