This third post in a series focuses on creating your own “distribution” using OpenEmbedded. The instructions below assume that you have a working build system that can produce binaries that run on the Atmel AT91SAM9263-EK board using NAND flash memory.

Our goal at the end of this post is to have an OE environment that:

1. builds images for a custom board based on the AT91SAM9263-EK;
2. adds the patches needed for the custom board to AT91Bootstrap, U-boot, and the Linux kernel; and
3. creates a custom root filesystem, bundled with programs that you want installed in the default image.

Lots to do, so let’s get started! Continue reading →

OpenEmbedded is a great tool for building Linux for an embedded system.  Over the next few posts, I hope to capture the step-by-step instructions needed to create a working Linux system for the Atmel AT91SAM9263-EK board.

OpenEmbedded provides a framework that promotes cross compiling in a “emerge”-like manner.  Relying on BitBake (derived from “emerge”, in fact) as its under-the-hood workhorse, OE creates a sandboxed build system that is entirely self-contained.  Entire systems can be created with a single command and, more importantly, without having to understand the complexities of cross compiling!

This first post will focus on creating a working build system.  By the conclusion, you will be able to compile binary images for the target board.  Follow-up posts will show you how to load the binary images onto the target, create your own custom target board, and then roll your own Linux distribution. Continue reading →