generic-poky/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-start.xml

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<chapter id='dev-manual-start'>

<title>Getting Started with the Yocto Project</title>

<para>
    This chapter introduces the Yocto Project and gives you an idea of what you need to get started.  
    You can find enough information to set your development host up and build or use images for 
    hardware supported by the Yocto Project by reading the 
    <ulink url='http://www.yoctoproject.org/docs/yocto-quick-start/yocto-project-qs.html'>
    Yocto Project Quick Start</ulink> located on the <ulink url='http://www.yoctoproject.org'>
    Yocto Project website</ulink>.
</para>

<para>
    The remainder of this chapter summarizes what is in the Yocto Project Quick Start and provides 
    some higher level concepts you might want to consider.
</para>

<section id='introducing-the-yocto-project'>
    <title>Introducing the Yocto Project</title>

    <para>
        The Yocto Project is an open-source collaboration project focused on embedded Linux developers.  
        The project provides a recent Linux kernel along with a set of system commands, libraries, 
        and system components suitable for the embedded developer.  
        The Yocto Project also features the Sato reference User Interface should you be dealing with 
        devices with restricted screens.
    </para>

    <para>
        You can use the Yocto Project, which uses the BitBake build tool, to develop complete Linux 
        images and user-space applications for architectures based on ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, x86 and x86-64.  
        You can perform target-level testing and debugging as well as test in a hardware emulated environment.  
        And, if you are an Eclipse user, you can install an Eclipse Yocto Plug-in to allow you to 
        develop within that familiar environment.
    </para>
</section>

<section id='getting-setup'>
    <title>Getting Setup</title>

    <para>
        Here is what you need to get set up to use the Yocto Project:
        <itemizedlist>
            <listitem><para><emphasis>Host System:</emphasis>  You need a recent release of Fedora, 
                OpenSUSE, Debian, or Ubuntu.  
                You should have a reasonably current Linux-based host system.  
                You should also have about 100 gigabytes of free disk space if you plan on building 
                images.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para><emphasis>Packages:</emphasis>  Depending on your host system (Debian-based or RPM-based),
                you need certain packages.  
                See the <ulink url='http://www.yoctoproject.org/docs/yocto-quick-start/yocto-project-qs.html#packages'>
                The Packages</ulink> section in the Yocto Project Quick start for the exact package 
                requirements.</para></listitem>
            <listitem id='local-yp-release'><para><emphasis>Yocto Project Release:</emphasis>  
                You need a release of the Yocto Project.  
                You can get set up with local Yocto Project files one of two ways depending on whether you 
                are going to be contributing back into the Yocto Project source repository or not.
                <note>
                    Regardless of the method you use, this manual will refer to the resulting 
                    hierarchical set of files as "the local Yocto Project files."
                </note>
                <itemizedlist>
                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Tarball Extraction:</emphasis>  If you are not going to contribute 
                        back into the Yocto Project you can simply download the Yocto Project release you want 
                        from the website’s <ulink url='http://yoctoproject.org/download'>download page</ulink>.
                        Once you have the tarball, just extract it into a directory of your choice.</para>

                        <para>For example, the following command extracts the Yocto Project 1.1 release tarball 
                            into the current working directory and sets up a file structure whose top-level 
                            directory is named <filename>poky-1.1</filename>:
                            <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ tar xfj poky-1.1.tar.bz2
                            </literallayout></para>
                        <para>This method does not produce a <filename>poky</filename> Git repository. 
                            You end up simply with a local snapshot of Yocto Project files that are based on the 
                            particular release in the tarball.</para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Git Repository Method:</emphasis>  If you are going to be contributing
                        back into the Yocto Project you should use Git commands to set up a local 
                        <filename>poky</filename> Git repository of the Yocto Project.  
                        Doing so creates a Git repository with a complete history of changes and allows 
                        you to easily submit your changes upstream to the project.</para>
 
                       <para>The following transcript shows how to clone the <filename>poky</filename> 
                       Git repository into the current working directory.  
                       The command creates the repository in a directory named <filename>poky</filename>.
                       For information on the Yocto Project and Git, see
                       <xref linkend='git'>Git</xref> in  
                       <xref linkend='dev-manual-newbie'>Working with Open Source Code</xref>.
                       <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ git clone git://git.yoctoproject.org/poky
     Initialized empty Git repository in /home/scottrif/poky/.git/
     remote: Counting objects: 107624, done.
     remote: Compressing objects: 100% (37128/37128), done.
     remote: Total 107624 (delta 73393), reused 99851 (delta 67287)
     Receiving objects: 100% (107624/107624), 69.74 MiB | 483 KiB/s, done.
     Resolving deltas: 100% (73393/73393), done.
                       </literallayout></para>

                       <para>For another example of how to set up your own local Git repositories see this
                        <ulink url='https://wiki.yoctoproject.org/wiki/Transcript:_from_git_checkout_to_meta-intel_BSP'>
                        wiki page</ulink>, which describes how to create both <filename>poky</filename>
                        and <filename>meta-intel</filename> Git repositories.</para></listitem>
                </itemizedlist></para></listitem>
            <listitem id='local-kernel-files'><para><emphasis>Linux Yocto Kernel:</emphasis>  
                If you are going to be making modifications to a supported Linux Yocto kernel you 
                need to get set up so that you can edit local copies of the source.
                This setup involves creating a bare clone of the Linux Yocto kernel and then cloning 
                that repository.</para>
                <para>As an example, the following transcript shows how to create the bare clone
                of the <filename>linux-yocto-2.6.37</filename> kernel and then create a clone of 
                that repository: 
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ git clone --bare git://git.yoctoproject.org/linux-yocto-2.6.37 linux-yocto-2.6.37.git
     Initialized empty Git repository in /home/scottrif/poky/linux-yocto-2.6.37.git/
     remote: Counting objects: 1886034, done.
     remote: Compressing objects: 100% (314326/314326), done.
     remote: Total 1886034 (delta 1570200), reused 1870337 (delta 1554798)
     Receiving objects: 100% (1886034/1886034), 401.51 MiB | 3.27 MiB/s, done.
     Resolving deltas: 100% (1570200/1570200), done.
                </literallayout></para>
                <para>Now create a clone of the bare clone just created:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ git clone linux-yocto-2.6.37.git linux-yocto-2.6.37
     Initialized empty Git repository in /home/scottrif/poky/linux-yocto-2.6.37/.git/
     Checking out files: 100% (35188/35188), done.
                </literallayout></para>
                <para>The final repository you need for kernel development is the 
                <filename>meta-kernel-dev</filename> Git repository.  
                This repository allows you to configure the build system so that you point to your 
                local area for the Linux Yocto kernel source files.  
                Pointing to these files locally is much more efficient than requiring a download of the 
                source files from upstream each time you build the kernel image:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ git clone git://git.yoctoproject.org/poky-extras poky-extras
     Initialized empty Git repository in /home/scottrif/poky/poky-extras/.git/
     remote: Counting objects: 531, done.
     remote: Compressing objects: 100% (471/471), done.
     remote: Total 531 (delta 138), reused 307 (delta 39)
     Receiving objects: 100% (531/531), 517.86 KiB, done.
     Resolving deltas: 100% (138/138), done.
                </literallayout></para></listitem>
           <listitem><para><emphasis>Supported Board Support Packages (BSPs):</emphasis>  The same considerations 
                exist for BSPs.  
                You can get set up for BSP development one of two ways: tarball extraction or
                with a local Git repository.
                Regardless of the method you use, the Yocto Project uses the following BSP layer 
                naming scheme:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'> 
     meta-&lt;BSP_name&gt; 
                </literallayout>
                where &lt;BSP_name&gt; is the recognized BSP name.
                Here are some examples:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     meta-crownbay
     meta-emenlow
     meta-n450
                </literallayout>
                <itemizedlist>
                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Tarball Extraction:</emphasis>  You can download any released 
                        BSP tarball from the same 
                        <ulink url='http://yoctoproject.org/download'>download site</ulink>.  
                        Once you have the tarball just extract it into a directory of your choice.
                        Again, this method just produces a snapshot of the BSP layer in the form
                        of a hierarchical directory structure.</para></listitem>
                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Git Repository Method:</emphasis>  If you are working 
                        with a <filename>poky</filename> Git repository you should also set up a 
                        <filename>meta-intel</filename> Git repository.  
                        Typically, you set up the <filename>meta-intel</filename> Git repository inside
                        the <filename>poky</filename> Git repository.</para>

                        <para>For example, the following transcript shows the steps to clone the 
                        <filename>meta-intel</filename>
                        Git repository inside the <filename>poky</filename> 
                        <filename>poky</filename> Git repository.
                        <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $cd poky
     $ git clone git://git.yoctoproject.org/meta-intel.git
     Initialized empty Git repository in /home/scottrif/poky/meta-intel/.git/
     remote: Counting objects: 1325, done.
     remote: Compressing objects: 100% (1078/1078), done.
     remote: Total 1325 (delta 546), reused 85 (delta 27)
     Receiving objects: 100% (1325/1325), 1.56 MiB | 330 KiB/s, done.
     Resolving deltas: 100% (546/546), done.
                        </literallayout></para>

                        <para>The same  
                        <ulink url='https://wiki.yoctoproject.org/wiki/Transcript:_from_git_checkout_to_meta-intel_BSP'>
                        wiki page</ulink> referenced earlier covers how to 
                        set up the <filename>meta-intel</filename> Git repository.</para></listitem>
                </itemizedlist></para></listitem>
            <listitem><para><emphasis>Eclipse Yocto Plug-in:</emphasis>  If you are developing using the 
                Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE) you will need this plug-in.  
                See the 
                <ulink url='http://www.yoctoproject.org/docs/adt-manual/adt-manual.html#setting-up-the-eclipse-ide'>
                Setting up the Eclipse IDE</ulink> section in the Yocto Application Development Toolkit (ADT) 
                User’s Guide for more information.</para></listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
    </para>
</section>

<section id='building-images'>
    <title>Building Images</title>

    <para>
        The build process creates an entire Linux distribution, including the toolchain, from source.  
        For more information on this topic, see the 
        <ulink url='http://www.yoctoproject.org/docs/yocto-quick-start/yocto-project-qs.html#building-image'>
        Building an Image</ulink> section in the Yocto Project Quick Start.
    </para>

    <para>
        The build process is as follows:
        <orderedlist>
            <listitem><para>Make sure you have the Yocto Project files as described in the 
                previous section.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Initialize the build environment by sourcing a build environment 
                script.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Make sure the <filename>conf/local.conf</filename> configuration file is set 
                up how you want it.  
                This file defines the target machine architecture and and other build configurations.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Build the image using the BitBake command.  
                If you want information on Bitbake, see the user manual at 
                <ulink url='http://docs.openembedded.org/bitbake/html'></ulink>.</para></listitem>
            <listitem><para>Run the image either on the actual hardware or using the QEMU 
                emulator.</para></listitem>
        </orderedlist>
    </para>
</section>

<section id='using-pre-built-binaries-and-qemu'>
    <title>Using Pre-Built Binaries and QEMU</title>

    <para>
        Another option you have to get started is to use a pre-built binary.  
        This scenario is ideal for developing software applications to run on your target hardware.  
        To do this you need to install the stand-alone Yocto toolchain tarball and then download the 
        pre-built kernel that you will boot using the QEMU emulator.  
        Next, you must download the filesystem for your target machine’s architecture.  
        Finally, you set up the environment to emulate the hardware then start the emulator.
    </para>

    <para>
        You can find details on all these steps in the 
        <ulink url='http://www.yoctoproject.org/docs/yocto-quick-start/yocto-project-qs.html#using-pre-built'>
        Using Pre-Built Binaries and QEMU</ulink> section in the Yocto Project Quick Start. 
    </para>
</section>
</chapter>
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