Section 4.4. Obtaining a Linux Kernel


4.4. Obtaining a Linux Kernel

In general, you can obtain an embedded Linux kernel for your hardware platform in three ways: You can purchase a suitable commercial embedded Linux distribution; you can download a free embedded distribution, if you can find one suitable for your particular architecture and processor; or you can find the closest open-source Linux kernel to your application and port it yourself. We discuss Linux porting in Chapter 16, "Porting Linux."

Although porting an open source kernel to your custom board is not necessarily difficult, it represents a significant investment in engineering/development resources. This approach gives you access to free software, but deploying Linux in your development project is far from free, as we discussed in Chapter 1, "Introduction." Even for a small system with minimal application requirements, you need many more components than just a Linux kernel.

4.4.1. What Else Do I Need?

This chapter has focused on the layout and construction of the Linux kernel itself. As you might have already discovered, Linux is only a small component of an embedded system based on Linux. In addition to the Linux kernel, you need the following components to develop, test, and launch your embedded Linux widget:

  • Bootloader ported to and configured for your specific hardware platform

  • Cross-compiler and associated toolchain for your chosen architecture

  • File system containing many packagesbinary executables and libraries compiled for your native hardware architecture/processor

  • Device drivers for any custom devices on your board

  • Development environment, including host tools and utilities

  • Linux kernel source tree enabled for your particular processor and board

These are the components of an embedded Linux distribution.



Embedded Linux Primer(c) A Practical Real-World Approach
Embedded Linux Primer: A Practical Real-World Approach
ISBN: 0131679848
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2007
Pages: 167

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