path: root/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-kernel-appendix-orig.xml

<!DOCTYPE appendix PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
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[<!ENTITY % poky SYSTEM "../poky.ent"> %poky; ] >

<appendix id='dev-manual-kernel-appendix'>

<title>Kernel Modification Example</title>

    <para>
        Kernel modification involves changing or adding configurations to an existing kernel,
        changing or adding recipes to the kernel that are needed to support specific hardware features,
        or even altering the source code itself.
        This appendix presents simple examples that modify the kernel source code,
        change the kernel configuration, and add a kernel source recipe.
        <note>
            You can use the <filename>yocto-kernel</filename> script
            found in the <link linkend='source-directory'>Source Directory</link>
            under <filename>scripts</filename> to manage kernel patches and configuration.
            See the "<ulink url='&YOCTO_DOCS_BSP_URL;#managing-kernel-patches-and-config-items-with-yocto-kernel'>Managing kernel Patches and Config Items with yocto-kernel</ulink>"
            section in the Yocto Project Board Support Packages (BSP) Developer's Guide for
            more information.</note>
    </para>

    <section id='modifying-the-kernel-source-code'>
        <title>Modifying the Kernel Source Code</title>

        <para>
            This example adds some simple QEMU emulator console output at boot time by
            adding <filename>printk</filename> statements to the kernel's
            <filename>calibrate.c</filename> source code file.
            Booting the modified image causes the added messages to appear on the emulator's
            console.
        </para>

        <section id='understanding-the-files-you-need'>
            <title>Understanding the Files You Need</title>

            <para>
                Before you modify the kernel, you need to know what Git repositories and file
                structures you need.
                Briefly, you need the following:
                <itemizedlist>
                    <listitem><para>A local
                        <link linkend='source-directory'>Source Directory</link> for the
                        poky Git repository</para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para>Local copies of the
                        <link linkend='poky-extras-repo'><filename>poky-extras</filename></link>
                        Git repository placed within the Source Directory.</para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para>A bare clone of the
                        <link linkend='local-kernel-files'>Yocto Project Kernel</link> upstream Git
                        repository to which you want to push your modifications.
                        </para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para>A copy of that bare clone in which you make your source
                        modifications</para></listitem>
                </itemizedlist>
            </para>

            <para>
                The following figure summarizes these four areas.
                Within each rectangular that represents a data structure, a
                host development directory pathname appears at the
                lower left-hand corner of the box.
                These pathnames are the locations used in this example.
                The figure also provides key statements and commands used during the kernel
                modification process:
            </para>

            <para>
                <imagedata fileref="figures/kernel-example-repos-generic.png" width="7in" depth="5in"
                    align="center" scale="100" />
            </para>

            <para>
                Here is a brief description of the four areas:
                <itemizedlist>
                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Local Source Directory:</emphasis>
                        This area contains all the metadata that supports building images
                        using the OpenEmbedded build system.
                        In this example, the
                        <link linkend='source-directory'>Source Directory</link> also
                        contains the
                        <link linkend='build-directory'>Build Directory</link>,
                        which contains the configuration directory
                        that lets you control the build.
                        Also in this example, the Source Directory contains local copies of the
                        <filename>poky-extras</filename> Git repository.</para>
                        <para>See the bulleted item
                        "<link linkend='local-yp-release'>Yocto Project Release</link>"
                        for information on how to get these files on your local system.</para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Local copies of the&nbsp;<filename>poky-extras</filename>&nbsp;Git Repository:</emphasis>
                        This area contains the <filename>meta-kernel-dev</filename> layer,
                        which is where you make changes that append the kernel build recipes.
                        You edit <filename>.bbappend</filename> files to locate your
                        local kernel source files and to identify the kernel being built.
                        This Git repository is a gathering place for extensions to the Yocto Project
                        (or really any) kernel recipes that faciliate the creation and development
                        of kernel features, BSPs or configurations.</para>
                        <para>See the bulleted item
                        "<link linkend='poky-extras-repo'>The
                        <filename>poky-extras</filename> Git Repository</link>"
                        for information on how to get these files.</para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Bare Clone of the Yocto Project kernel:</emphasis>
                        This bare Git repository tracks the upstream Git repository of the Linux
                        Yocto kernel source code you are changing.
                        When you modify the kernel you must work through a bare clone.
                        All source code changes you make to the kernel must be committed and
                        pushed to the bare clone using Git commands.
                        As mentioned, the <filename>.bbappend</filename> file in the
                        <filename>poky-extras</filename> repository points to the bare clone
                        so that the build process can locate the locally changed source files.</para>
                        <para>See the bulleted item
                        "<link linkend='local-kernel-files'>Yocto Project Kernel</link>"
                        for information on how to set up the bare clone.
                        </para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Copy of the Yocto Project Kernel Bare Clone:</emphasis>
                        This Git repository contains the actual source files that you modify.
                        Any changes you make to files in this location need to ultimately be pushed
                        to the bare clone using the <filename>git push</filename> command.</para>
                        <para>See the bulleted item
                        "<link linkend='local-kernel-files'>Yocto Project Kernel</link>"
                        for information on how to set up the bare clone.
                        <note>Typically, Git workflows follow a scheme where changes made to a local area
                        are pulled into a Git repository.
                        However, because the <filename>git pull</filename> command does not work
                        with bare clones, this workflow pushes changes to the
                        repository even though you could use other more complicated methods to
                        get changes into the bare clone.</note>
                        </para></listitem>
                </itemizedlist>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='setting-up-the-local-yocto-project-files-git-repository'>
            <title>Setting Up the Local Source Directory</title>

            <para>
                You can set up the
                <link linkend='source-directory'>Source Directory</link>
                through tarball extraction or by
                cloning the <filename>poky</filename> Git repository.
                This example uses <filename>poky</filename> as the root directory of the
                local Source Directory.
                See the bulleted item
                "<link linkend='local-yp-release'>Yocto Project Release</link>"
                for information on how to get these files.
            </para>

            <para>
                Once you have Source Directory set up,
                you have many development branches from which you can work.
                From inside the local repository you can see the branch names and the tag names used
                in the upstream Git repository by using either of the following commands:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ cd poky
     $ git branch -a
     $ git tag -l
                </literallayout>
                This example uses the Yocto Project &DISTRO; Release code named "&DISTRO_NAME;",
                which maps to the <filename>&DISTRO_NAME;</filename> branch in the repository.
                The following commands create and checkout the local <filename>&DISTRO_NAME;</filename>
                branch:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ git checkout -b &DISTRO_NAME; origin/&DISTRO_NAME;
     Branch &DISTRO_NAME; set up to track remote branch &DISTRO_NAME; from origin.
     Switched to a new branch '&DISTRO_NAME;'
                </literallayout>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='setting-up-the-poky-extras-git-repository'>
            <title>Setting Up the Local poky-extras Git Repository</title>

            <para>
                This example creates a local copy of the <filename>poky-extras</filename> Git
                repository inside the <filename>poky</filename> Source Directory.
                See the bulleted item "<link linkend='poky-extras-repo'>The
                <filename>poky-extras</filename> Git Repository</link>"
                for information on how to set up a local copy of the
                <filename>poky-extras</filename> repository.
            </para>

            <para>
                Because this example uses the Yocto Project &DISTRO; Release code
                named "&DISTRO_NAME;", which maps to the <filename>&DISTRO_NAME;</filename>
                branch in the repository, you need to be sure you are using that
                branch for <filename>poky-extras</filename>.
                The following commands create and checkout the local
                branch you are using for the <filename>&DISTRO_NAME;</filename>
                branch:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ cd ~/poky/poky-extras
     $ git checkout -b &DISTRO_NAME; origin/&DISTRO_NAME;
     Branch &DISTRO_NAME; set up to track remote branch &DISTRO_NAME; from origin.
     Switched to a new branch '&DISTRO_NAME;'
                </literallayout>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='setting-up-the-bare-clone-and-its-copy'>
            <title>Setting Up the Bare Clone and its Copy</title>

            <para>
                This example modifies the <filename>linux-yocto-3.4</filename> kernel.
                Thus, you need to create a bare clone of that kernel and then make a copy of the
                bare clone.
                See the bulleted item
                "<link linkend='local-kernel-files'>Yocto Project Kernel</link>"
                for information on how to do that.
            </para>

            <para>
                The bare clone exists for the kernel build tools and simply as the receiving end
                of <filename>git push</filename>
                commands after you make edits and commits inside the copy of the clone.
                The copy (<filename>my-linux-yocto-3.4-work</filename> in this example) has to have
                a local branch created and checked out for your work.
                This example uses <filename>common-pc-base</filename> as the local branch.
                The following commands create and checkout the branch:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ cd ~/my-linux-yocto-3.4-work
     $ git checkout -b standard-common-pc-base origin/standard/common-pc/base
     Branch standard-common-pc-base set up to track remote branch
        standard/common-pc/base from origin.
     Switched to a new branch 'standard-common-pc-base'
                </literallayout>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='building-and-booting-the-default-qemu-kernel-image'>
            <title>Building and Booting the Default QEMU Kernel Image</title>

            <para>
                Before we make changes to the kernel source files, this example first builds the
                default image and then boots it inside the QEMU emulator.
                <note>
                    Because a full build can take hours, you should check two variables in the
                    <filename>build</filename> directory that is created after you source the
                    <filename>&OE_INIT_FILE;</filename> script.
                    You can find these variables
                    <filename>BB_NUMBER_THREADS</filename> and <filename>PARALLEL_MAKE</filename>
                    in the <filename>build/conf</filename> directory in the
                    <filename>local.conf</filename> configuration file.
                    By default, these variables are commented out.
                    If your host development system supports multi-core and multi-thread capabilities,
                    you can uncomment these statements and set the variables to significantly shorten
                    the full build time.
                    As a guideline, set both <filename>BB_NUMBER_THREADS</filename> and
                    <filename>PARALLEL_MAKE</filename> to twice the number
                    of cores your machine supports.
                </note>
                The following two commands <filename>source</filename> the build environment setup script
                and build the default <filename>qemux86</filename> image.
                If necessary, the script creates the build directory:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ cd ~/poky
     $ source &OE_INIT_FILE;
     You had no conf/local.conf file. This configuration file has therefore been
     created for you with some default values. You may wish to edit it to use a
     different MACHINE (target hardware) or enable parallel build options to take
     advantage of multiple cores for example. See the file for more information as
     common configuration options are commented.

     The Yocto Project has extensive documentation about OE including a reference manual
     which can be found at:
         http://yoctoproject.org/documentation

     For more information about OpenEmbedded see their website:
         http://www.openembedded.org/

     You had no conf/bblayers.conf file. The configuration file has been created for
     you with some default values. To add additional metadata layers into your
     configuration please add entries to this file.

     The Yocto Project has extensive documentation about OE including a reference manual
     which can be found at:
         http://yoctoproject.org/documentation

     For more information about OpenEmbedded see their website:
         http://www.openembedded.org/



     ### Shell environment set up for builds. ###

     You can now run 'bitbake &lt;target&gt;>'

     Common targets are:
         core-image-minimal
         core-image-sato
         meta-toolchain
         meta-toolchain-sdk
         adt-installer
         meta-ide-support

     You can also run generated qemu images with a command like 'runqemu qemux86'
                </literallayout>
            </para>

            <para>
                The following <filename>bitbake</filename> command starts the build:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ bitbake -k core-image-minimal
                </literallayout>
                <note>Be sure to check the settings in the <filename>local.conf</filename>
                before starting the build.</note>
            </para>

            <para>
                After the build completes, you can start the QEMU emulator using the resulting image
                <filename>qemux86</filename> as follows:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ runqemu qemux86
                </literallayout>
            </para>

            <para>
                As the image boots in the emulator, console message and status output appears
                across the terminal window.
                Because the output scrolls by quickly, it is difficult to read.
                To examine the output, you log into the system using the
                login <filename>root</filename> with no password.
                Once you are logged in, issue the following command to scroll through the
                console output:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     # dmesg | less
                </literallayout>
            </para>

            <para>
                Take note of the output as you will want to look for your inserted print command output
                later in the example.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='changing-the-source-code-and-pushing-it-to-the-bare-clone'>
            <title>Changing the Source Code and Pushing it to the Bare Clone</title>

            <para>
                The file you change in this example is named <filename>calibrate.c</filename>
                and is located in the <filename>my-linux-yocto-3.4-work</filename> Git repository
                (the copy of the bare clone) in <filename>init</filename>.
                This example simply inserts several <filename>printk</filename> statements
                at the beginning of the <filename>calibrate_delay</filename> function.
            </para>

            <para>
                Here is the unaltered code at the start of this function:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     void __cpuinit calibrate_delay(void)
     {
     	unsigned long lpj;
     	static bool printed;
     	int this_cpu = smp_processor_id();

     	if (per_cpu(cpu_loops_per_jiffy, this_cpu)) {
               .
               .
               .
               </literallayout>
           </para>

           <para>
               Here is the altered code showing five new <filename>printk</filename> statements
               near the top of the function:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     void __cpuinit calibrate_delay(void)
     {
         unsigned long lpj;
         static bool printed;
         int this_cpu = smp_processor_id();

         printk("*************************************\n");
         printk("*                                   *\n");
         printk("*        HELLO YOCTO KERNEL         *\n");
         printk("*                                   *\n");
         printk("*************************************\n");

     	if (per_cpu(cpu_loops_per_jiffy, this_cpu)) {
               .
               .
               .
               </literallayout>
           </para>

           <para>
               After making and saving your changes, you need to stage them for the push.
               The following Git commands are one method of staging and committing your changes:
               <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ git add calibrate.c
     $ git commit --signoff
               </literallayout>
           </para>

           <para>
               Once the source code has been modified, you need to use Git to push the changes to
               the bare clone.
               If you do not push the changes, then the OpenEmbedded build system will not pick
               up the changed source files.
           </para>

           <para>
               The following command pushes the changes to the bare clone:
               <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ git push origin standard-common-pc-base:standard/default/common-pc/base
               </literallayout>
           </para>
       </section>

       <section id='changing-build-parameters-for-your-build'>
           <title>Changing Build Parameters for Your Build</title>

           <para>
               At this point, the source has been changed and pushed.
               The example now defines some variables used by the OpenEmbedded build system
               to locate your kernel source.
               You essentially need to identify where to find the kernel recipe and the changed source code.
               You also need to be sure some basic configurations are in place that identify the
               type of machine you are building and to help speed up the build should your host support
               multiple-core and thread capabilities.
           </para>

           <para>
               Do the following to make sure the build parameters are set up for the example.
               Once you set up these build parameters, they do not have to change unless you
               change the target architecture of the machine you are building or you move
               the bare clone, copy of the clone, or the <filename>poky-extras</filename> repository:
               <itemizedlist>
                   <listitem><para><emphasis>Build for the Correct Target Architecture:</emphasis> The
                       <filename>local.conf</filename> file in the build directory defines the build's
                       target architecture.
                       By default, <filename>MACHINE</filename> is set to
                       <filename>qemux86</filename>, which specifies a 32-bit
                       <trademark class='registered'>Intel</trademark> Architecture
                       target machine suitable for the QEMU emulator.
                       In this example, <filename>MACHINE</filename> is correctly configured.
                       </para></listitem>
                   <listitem><para><emphasis>Optimize Build Time:</emphasis> Also in the
                       <filename>local.conf</filename> file are two variables that can speed your
                       build time if your host supports multi-core and multi-thread capabilities:
                       <filename>BB_NUMBER_THREADS</filename> and <filename>PARALLEL_MAKE</filename>.
                       If the host system has multiple cores then you can optimize build time
                       by setting both these variables to twice the number of
                       cores.</para></listitem>
                   <listitem><para><emphasis>Identify Your <filename>meta-kernel-dev</filename>
                       Layer:</emphasis> The <filename>BBLAYERS</filename> variable in the
                       <filename>bblayers.conf</filename> file found in the
                       <filename>poky/build/conf</filename> directory needs to have the path to your local
                       <filename>meta-kernel-dev</filename> layer.
                       By default, the <filename>BBLAYERS</filename> variable contains paths to
                       <filename>meta</filename> and <filename>meta-yocto</filename> in the
                       <filename>poky</filename> Git repository.
                       Add the path to your <filename>meta-kernel-dev</filename> location.
                       Be sure to substitute your user information in the statement.
                       Here is an example:
                       <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     BBLAYERS = " \
       /home/scottrif/poky/meta \
       /home/scottrif/poky/meta-yocto \
       /home/scottrif/poky/meta-yocto-bsp \
       /home/scottrif/poky/poky-extras/meta-kernel-dev \
       "
                       </literallayout></para></listitem>
                   <listitem><para><emphasis>Identify Your Source Files:</emphasis> In the
                       <filename>linux-yocto_3.4.bbappend</filename> file located in the
                       <filename>poky-extras/meta-kernel-dev/recipes-kernel/linux</filename>
                       directory, you need to identify the location of the
                       local source code, which in this example is the bare clone named
                       <filename>linux-yocto-3.4.git</filename>.
                       To do this, set the <filename>KSRC_linux_yocto</filename> variable to point to your
                       local <filename>linux-yocto-3.4.git</filename> Git repository by adding the
                       following statement.
                       Also, be sure the <filename>SRC_URI</filename> variable is pointing to
                       your kernel source files by removing the comment.
                       Finally, be sure to substitute your user information in the statement:
                       <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     KSRC_linux_yocto_3_4 ?= "/home/scottrif/linux-yocto-3.4.git"
     SRC_URI = "git://${KSRC_linux_yocto_3_4};protocol=file;nocheckout=1;branch=${KBRANCH},meta;name=machine,meta"
                       </literallayout></para></listitem>
               </itemizedlist>
           </para>

           <note>
               <para>Before attempting to build the modified kernel, there is one more set of changes you
               need to make in the <filename>meta-kernel-dev</filename> layer.
               Because all the kernel <filename>.bbappend</filename> files are parsed during the
               build process regardless of whether you are using them or not, you should either
               comment out the <filename>COMPATIBLE_MACHINE</filename> statements in all
               unused <filename>.bbappend</filename> files, or simply remove (or rename) all the files
               except the one your are using for the build
               (i.e. <filename>linux-yocto_3.4.bbappend</filename> in this example).</para>
               <para>If you do not make one of these two adjustments, your machine will be compatible
               with all the kernel recipes in the <filename>meta-kernel-dev</filename> layer.
               When your machine is comapatible with all the kernel recipes, the build attempts
               to build all kernels in the layer.
               You could end up with build errors blocking your work.</para>
           </note>
       </section>

        <section id='building-and-booting-the-modified-qemu-kernel-image'>
            <title>Building and Booting the Modified QEMU Kernel Image</title>

            <para>
                Next, you need to build the modified image.
                Do the following:
                <orderedlist>
                    <listitem><para>Your environment should be set up since you previously sourced
                        the <filename>&OE_INIT_FILE;</filename> script.
                        If it isn't, source the script again from <filename>poky</filename>.
                        <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ cd ~/poky
     $ source &OE_INIT_FILE;
                        </literallayout>
                        </para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para>Be sure old images are cleaned out by running the
                        <filename>cleanall</filename> BitBake task as follows from your build directory:
                        <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ bitbake -c cleanall linux-yocto
                        </literallayout></para>
                        <para><note>Never remove any files by hand from the <filename>tmp/deploy</filename>
                        directory insided the build directory.
                        Always use the BitBake <filename>cleanall</filename> task to clear
                        out previous builds.</note></para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para>Next, build the kernel image using this command:
                        <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ bitbake -k core-image-minimal
                        </literallayout></para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para>Finally, boot the modified image in the QEMU emulator
                        using this command:
                        <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ runqemu qemux86
                        </literallayout></para></listitem>
                </orderedlist>
            </para>

            <para>
                Log into the machine using <filename>root</filename> with no password and then
                use the following shell command to scroll through the console's boot output.
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     # dmesg | less
                </literallayout>
            </para>

            <para>
                You should see the results of your <filename>printk</filename> statements
                as part of the output.
            </para>
        </section>
    </section>
</appendix>

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