path: root/documentation/bsp-guide/bsp.xml

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<chapter id='bsp'>

        <title>Board Support Packages (BSP) - Developers Guide</title>

        <para>
            A Board Support Package (BSP) is a collection of information that
            defines how to support a particular hardware device, set of devices, or 
            hardware platform. 
            The BSP includes information about the hardware features 
            present on the device and kernel configuration information along with any 
            additional hardware drivers required.
            The BSP also lists any additional software 
            components required in addition to a generic Linux software stack for both 
            essential and optional platform features.
        </para>

        <para>
            This section (or document if you are reading the BSP Developer's Guide) defines
            a structure for these components
            so that BSPs follow a commonly understood layout.
            Providing a common form allows end-users to understand and become familiar 
            with the layout.  
            A common form also encourages standardization 
            of software support of hardware.
        </para>

        <para>
            The proposed format does have elements that are specific to the Poky and 
            OpenEmbedded build systems. 
            It is intended that this information can be 
            used by other systems besides Poky and OpenEmbedded and that it will be simple
            to extract information and convert it to other formats if required.
            Poky, through its standard layers mechanism, can directly accept the format 
            described as a layer.
            The BSP captures all 
            the hardware-specific details in one place in a standard format, which is 
            useful for any person wishing to use the hardware platform regardless of 
            the build system they are using.
        </para>

        <para>
            The BSP specification does not include a build system or other tools -
            it is concerned with the hardware-specific components only. 
            At the end 
            distribution point you can ship the BSP combined with a build system
            and other tools. 
            However, it is important to maintain the distinction that these
            are separate components that happen to be combined in certain end products.
        </para>

        <section id="bsp-filelayout">
            <title>Example Filesystem Layout</title>

            <para>
                The BSP consists of a file structure inside a base directory, which uses the following 
                naming convention:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;
                </literallayout>
                "bsp_name" is a placeholder for the machine or platform name.
                Here are some example base directory names:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     meta-emenlow
     meta-intel_n450
     meta-beagleboard
                </literallayout>
            </para>

            <para>
                Below is the common form for the file structure inside a base directory.
                While you can use this basic form for the standard, realize that the actual structures
                for specific BSPs could differ. 

                <programlisting>
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/                                
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/&lt;bsp_license_file&gt;
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/README
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/binary/&lt;bootable_images&gt;
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/conf/layer.conf 
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/conf/machine/*.conf
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/recipes-bsp/*
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/recipes-bsp/formfactor/formfactor/&lt;bsp_name&gt;/*
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/recipes-graphics/*            
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/recipes-kernel/linux/linux-wrs_git.bbappend
                </programlisting>
            </para>

            <para>
                Below is an example of the crownbay BSP:

                <programlisting>
meta-crownbay/COPYING.MIT
meta-crownbay/README
meta-crownbay/binary/.gitignore
meta-crownbay/conf/layer.conf
meta-crownbay/conf/machine/crownbay.conf
meta-crownbay/recipes-bsp/formfactor/formfactor/crownbay/machconfig
meta-crownbay/recipes-bsp/formfactor/formfactor_0.0.bbappend
meta-crownbay/recipes-graphics/xorg-xserver/xserver-xf86-config/crownbay/xcorg.conf
meta-crownbay/recipes-graphics/xorg-xserver/xserver-xf86-config_0.1.bbappend
meta-crownbay/recipes-graphics/xorg-xserver/xserver-xf86-emgd-bin/.gitignore
meta-crownbay/recipes-graphics/xorg-xserver/xserver-xf86-emgd-bin_1.7.99.2.bb
meta-crownbay/recipes-graphics/xorg-xserver/xserver-xf86-emgd/crosscompile.patch
meta-crownbay/recipes-graphics/xorg-xserver/xserver-xf86-emgd/fix_open_max_preprocessor_error.patch
meta-crownbay/recipes-graphics/xorg-xserver/xserver-xf86-emgd/macro_tweak.patch
meta-crownbay/recipes-graphics/xorg-xserver/xserver-xf86-emgd/nodolt.patch
meta-crownbay/recipes-graphics/xorg-xserver/xserver-xf86-emgd_1.7.99.2.bb
meta-crownbay/recipes-kernel/linux/linux-wrs_git.bbappend
                </programlisting>
            </para>

            <para>
                The following sections describe each part of the proposed BSP format.
            </para>

        </section>

        <section id="bsp-filelayout-license">
            <title>License Files</title>
            <programlisting>
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/&lt;bsp_license_file&gt;
            </programlisting>

            <para>
                These optional files satisfy licensing requirements for the BSP.
                The type or types of files here can vary depending on the licensing requirements.
                For example, in the crownbay BSP all licensing requirements are handled with the 
                <filename>COPYING.MIT</filename> file.  
            </para>

            <para>
                Licensing files can be MIT, BSD, GPLv*, and so forth.
                These files are recommended for the BSP but are optional and totally up to the BSP developer.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id="bsp-filelayout-readme">
            <title>README File</title>
            <programlisting>
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/README
            </programlisting>

            <para>
                This file provides information on how to boot the live images that are optionally 
                included in the <filename>/binary</filename> directory.
                The <filename>README</filename> file also provides special information needed for 
                building the image.
            </para>

            <para>
                Technically speaking a <filename>README</filename> is optional but it is highly 
                recommended that every BSP has one.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id="bsp-filelayout-binary">
            <title>Pre-built User Binaries</title>
            <programlisting>
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/binary/&lt;bootable_images&gt;
            </programlisting>

            <para>
                This optional area contains useful pre-built kernels and userspace filesystem 
                images appropriate to the target system.
                This directory contains the Application Development Toolkit (ADT) and minimal
                live images when the BSP is has been "tar-balled" and placed on the Yocto Project website. 
                You can use these kernels and images to get a system running and quickly get started 
                on development tasks.
            </para>

            <para> 
                The exact types of binaries present are highly hardware-dependent.
                However, a README file should be present in the BSP file structure that explains how to use 
                the kernels and images with the target hardware. 
                If pre-built binaries are present, source code to meet licensing requirements must also 
                be provided in some form.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='bsp-filelayout-layer'>
            <title>Layer Configuration File</title>
            <programlisting>
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/conf/layer.conf 
            </programlisting>

            <para>
                This file identifies the structure as a Poky layer, identifies the  
                contents of the layer, and contains information about how Poky should use it. 
                Generally, a standard boilerplate file such as the following works:
            </para>

            <para>
               <programlisting>
# We have a conf directory, add to BBPATH
BBPATH := "${BBPATH}:${LAYERDIR}"

# We have a recipes directory containing .bb and .bbappend files, add to BBFILES
BBFILES := "${BBFILES} ${LAYERDIR}/recipes/*/*.bb \ ${LAYERDIR}/recipes/*/*.bbappend"

BBFILE_COLLECTIONS += "bsp"
BBFILE_PATTERN_bsp := "^${LAYERDIR}/"
BBFILE_PRIORITY_bsp = "5"
                </programlisting>
            </para>

            <para>
                This file simply makes BitBake aware of the recipes and configuration directories.
                This file must exist so that Poky can recognize the BSP.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id="bsp-filelayout-machine">
            <title>Hardware Configuration Options</title>
            <programlisting>
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/conf/machine/*.conf
            </programlisting>

            <para>
                The machine files bind together all the information contained elsewhere
                in the BSP into a format that Poky can understand. 
                If the BSP supports multiple machines, multiple machine configuration files
                can be present. 
                These filenames correspond to the values to which users have set the MACHINE variable.
            </para>

            <para>
                These files define things such as the kernel package to use
                (PREFERRED_PROVIDER of virtual/kernel), the hardware drivers to
                include in different types of images, any special software components
                that are needed, any bootloader information, and also any special image
                format requirements.
            </para>

            <para>
                At least one machine file is required for a BSP layer.
                However, you can supply more than one file.
            </para>

            <para>
                This directory could also contain shared hardware "tuning" definitions that are commonly used to
                pass specific optimization flags to the compiler. 
                An example is <filename>tune-atom.inc</filename>:
            </para>
            <para>
                <programlisting>
BASE_PACKAGE_ARCH = "core2"
TARGET_CC_ARCH = "-m32 -march=core2 -msse3 -mtune=generic -mfpmath=sse"
                </programlisting>
            </para>
            <para>
                This example defines a new package architecture called "core2" and uses the
                specified optimization flags, which are carefully chosen to give best
                performance on atom processors.
            </para>
            <para>
                The tune file would be included by the machine definition and can be
                contained in the BSP or referenced from one of the standard core set of
                files included with Poky itself.
            </para>
            <para>
                Both the base package architecuture file and the tune file are optional for a Poky BSP layer.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='bsp-filelayout-misc-recipes'>
            <title>Miscellaneous Recipe Files</title>
            <programlisting>
meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/recipes-bsp/*
            </programlisting>

            <para>
                This directory contains miscellaneous recipe files for the BSP.
                Most notably would be the formactor files.
                For example, in the crownbay BSP there is a <filename>machconfig</filename> file and a
                <filename>formfactor_0.0.bbappend</filename> file:
                <programlisting>
meta-crownbay/recipes-bsp/formfactor/formfactor/crownbay/machconfig
meta-crownbay/recipes-bsp/formfactor/formfactor_0.0.bbappend
                </programlisting>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='bsp-filelayout-kernel'>
            <title>Linux Kernel Configuration (meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/recipes-kernel/linux/*)</title>

            <para>
                These files make up the definition of a kernel to use with this hardware. 
                In this case, it is a complete self-contained kernel with its own
                configuration and patches.
                However, kernels can be shared between many machines as well.
                Following is an example:
               <programlisting>
meta-Emenlow/recipes-kernel/linux/linux-bsp_2.6.50.bb
               </programlisting>
                This example file is the core kernel recipe that details from where to get the kernel
                source.
                All standard source code locations are supported.
                Consequently, the source could be a release tarball, a git repository, or source included in
                the directory within the BSP itself.
            </para>
            <para>
                The file then contains information about what patches to apply and how to configure and build them.
                Because the file can reuse the main Poky kernel build class, the definitions here can 
                remain very simple.   
            </para>
            <para>
                <programlisting>
linux-bsp-2.6.50/*.patch
                </programlisting>
            </para>
            <para>
                The above example file contains patches you can apply against the base kernel, from wherever
                they may have been obtained.
            </para>
            <para>
                <programlisting>
meta-Emenlow/recipes-kernel/linux/linux-bsp-2.6.50/defconfig-bsp
                </programlisting>
            </para>
            <para>
                Finally, this last example file contains kernel configuration information.
            </para>
            <para>
                Examples of kernel recipes are available in Poky itself, and thus, make these files optional.
                However, it would be unusual not to have a kernel configuration.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='bsp-filelayout-packages'>
            <title>Other Software (meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/recipes-kernel/*)</title>

            <para>
                This section describes other pieces of software that the hardware might need for best
                operation. 
                Examples show some of the things you could encounter.  
                The examples are standard <filename>.bb</filename> file recipes in the 
                usual Poky format.  
                You can include the source directly by referring to it in the source control system or 
                the released tarballs of external software projects.
                You only need to provide these types of files if the platform requires them.
            </para>
            <para>
                The following file is a bootloader recipe that can be used to generate a new
                bootloader binary. 
                Sometimes these files are included in the final image format and are needed to re-flash hardware.
            </para>
            <para>
               <programlisting>
meta-Emenlow/recipes-kernel/bootloader/bootloader_0.1.bb
               </programlisting>
            </para>
            <para>
                These next two files are examples of a hardware driver and a hardware daemon that might need
                to be included in images to make the hardware useful. 
                Although the example uses "modem" there may be other components needed, such as firmware.
            </para>
            <para>
               <programlisting>
meta-Emenlow/recipes-Emenlow/modem/modem-driver_0.1.bb
meta-Emenlow/recipes-Emenlow/modem/modem-daemon_0.1.bb
               </programlisting>
            </para>
            <para>
                Sometimes the device needs an image in a very specific format so that the update
                mechanism can accept and re-flash it. 
                Recipes to build the tools needed to do this can be included with the BSP.
                Following is an example.
            </para>
            <para>
               <programlisting>
meta-Emenlow/recipes-Emenlow/image-creator/image-creator-native_0.1.bb
               </programlisting>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='bs-filelayout-bbappend'>
            <title>Append BSP-Specific Information to Existing Recipes</title>
            <para>
                Suppose you have a recipe such as "pointercal" that requires machine-specific information.
                At the same time, you have your new BSP code nicely partitioned into a layer through which  
                you would also like to specify any machine-specific information associated with your new machine. 
                Before the <filename>.bbappend</filename> extension was introduced, you would have to copy the whole
                pointercal recipe and files into your layer and then add the single file for your machine.
            </para>
            <para>
                With the <filename>.bbappend</filename> extension, however, your work becomes much easier.
                This extension allows you to easily merge BSP-specific information with the original recipe.
                Whenever BitBake finds any <filename>.bbappend</filename> files BitBake will include them after
                it loads the associated <filename>.bb</filename> file but before any finalize 
                or anonymous methods are run.
                This allows the BSP layer to do whatever it might want to do to customize the original recipe.
            </para>
            <para>
                If your recipe needs to reference extra files it can use the FILESEXTRAPATH variable
                to specify their location. 
                The example below shows extra files contained in a folder called ${PN} (the package name).
            </para>
            <programlisting>
FILESEXTRAPATHS := "${THISDIR}/${PN}"
            </programlisting>
            <para>
            This technique allows the BSP to add machine-specific configuration files to the layer directory, 
            which will be picked up by BitBake. 
            For an example see <filename>meta-emenlow/packages/formfactor</filename>.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id="bsp-filelayout-prebuilds">
            <title>Pre-build Data (meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;/prebuilds/*)</title>
            <para>
                This location can contain precompiled representations of the source code 
                contained elsewhere in the BSP layer. 
                Assuming a compatible configuration is used, Poky can process and use these optional pre-compiled 
                representations to provide much faster build times.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='bsp-click-through-licensing'>
            <title>BSP 'Click-Through' Licensing Procedure</title>

            <note><para> This section describes how
		click-through licensing is expected to work.
                Currently, this functionality is not yet implemented.
            </para></note>

            <para>
	      In some cases, a BSP contains separately licensed IP
	      (Intellectual Property) for a component that imposes
	      upon the user a requirement to accept the terms of a
	      'click-through' license.  
              Once the license is accepted the
	      Poky build system can then build and include the
	      corresponding component in the final BSP image.  
              Some affected components might be essential to the normal
	      functioning of the system and have no 'free' replacement
	      (i.e. the resulting system would be non-functional
	      without them).
              On the other hand, other components might be simply
	      'good-to-have' or purely elective, or if essential
	      nonetheless have a 'free' (possibly less-capable)
	      version that could be used as a in the BSP recipe.
            </para>

            <para>
	      For cases where you can substitute something and still maintain functionality, the Poky website will make
	      available a 'de-featured' BSP completely free of the encumbered IP.
              In that case you can use the substitution directly and without any further licensing requirements.  
              If present, this fully 'de-featured' BSP will be named meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt; (i.e. the
	      normal default naming convention).  
              If available, this is the simplest the most preferred option.
              This, of course, assumes the resulting functionality meets requirements.
            </para>

            <para>
	      If however, a non-encumbered version is unavailable or the 'free' version would provide unsuitable
	      functionality or quality, an encumbered version can be used.  
              Encumbered versions of a BSP are given names of the form meta-&lt;bsp_name&gt;-nonfree.
            </para>

            <para>  
              Several methods exist within the Poky build system to satisfy the licensing
	      requirements for an encumbered BSP.
              The following list describes them in preferential order:
            </para>

	    <orderedlist>
            <listitem>

		<para>
		  Get a license key (or keys) for the encumbered BSP by visiting 
                  <ulink url='https://pokylinux.org/bsp-keys.html'>https://pokylinux.org/bsp-keys.html</ulink>
		  and give the name of the BSP and your e-mail address in the web form.
		</para>

		<programlisting>
		  [screenshot of dialog box]
		</programlisting>

		<para>
		  After agreeing to any applicable license terms, the
		  BSP key(s) will be immediately sent to the address
		  you gave and you can use them by specifying BSPKEY_&lt;keydomain&gt;
		  environment variables when building the image:
		</para>

		<programlisting>
		  $ BSPKEY_&lt;keydomain&gt;=&lt;key&gt; bitbake poky-image-sato
		</programlisting>

		<para>
		  These steps allow the encumbered image to be built
		  with no change at all to the normal build process.
		</para>

		<para>
		  Equivalently and probably more conveniently, a line
		  for each key can instead be put into the user's
		  <filename>local.conf</filename> file.
		</para>

		<para>
		  The &lt;keydomain&gt; component of the
		  BSPKEY_&lt;keydomain&gt; is required because there
		  might be multiple licenses in effect for a given BSP.
                  In such cases, a given &lt;keydomain&gt; corresponds to
		  a particular license.  In order for an encumbered
		  BSP that encompasses multiple key domains to be built
		  successfully, a &lt;keydomain&gt; entry for each
		  applicable license must be present in <filename>local.conf</filename> or
		  supplied on the command-line.
		</para>
              </listitem> 
              <listitem>
		<para>
		  Do nothing - build as you normally would.
                  When a license is needed the build will stop and prompt you with instructions.
                  Follow the license prompts that originate from the
		  encumbered BSP.  
                  These prompts usually take the form of instructions
		  needed to manually fetch the encumbered package(s)
		  and md5 sums into the required directory (e.g. the poky/build/downloads)
                  Once the manual package fetch has been
		  completed, restart the build to continue where
		  it left off.
                  During the build the prompt will not appear again since you have satisfied the 
                  requirement.
		</para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
		<para>
		  Get a full-featured BSP recipe rather than a key, by
		  visiting
		  <ulink url='https://pokylinux.org/bsps.html'>https://pokylinux.org/bsps.html</ulink>.
		  Accepting the license agreement(s) presented will
		  subsequently allow you to download a tarball
		  containing a full-featured BSP that is legally cleared for
		  your use by the just-given license agreement(s).
		  This method will also allow the encumbered image to
		  be built with no change at all to the normal build
		  process.
		</para>
              </listitem>
	    </orderedlist>
	    <para>
	      Note that the third method is also the only option available
	      when downloading pre-compiled images generated from
	      non-free BSPs.  
              Those images are likewise available at
	      <ulink url='https://pokylinux.org/bsps.html'>https://pokylinux.org/bsps.html</ulink>.
            </para> 
        </section>

</chapter>