Book Image

Mastering Embedded Linux Programming - Third Edition

By : Frank Vasquez, Chris Simmonds
5 (3)
Book Image

Mastering Embedded Linux Programming - Third Edition

5 (3)
By: Frank Vasquez, Chris Simmonds

Overview of this book

If you’re looking for a book that will demystify embedded Linux, then you’ve come to the right place. Mastering Embedded Linux Programming is a fully comprehensive guide that can serve both as means to learn new things or as a handy reference. The first few chapters of this book will break down the fundamental elements that underpin all embedded Linux projects: the toolchain, the bootloader, the kernel, and the root filesystem. After that, you will learn how to create each of these elements from scratch and automate the process using Buildroot and the Yocto Project. As you progress, the book will show you how to implement an effective storage strategy for flash memory chips and install updates to a device remotely once it’s deployed. You’ll also learn about the key aspects of writing code for embedded Linux, such as how to access hardware from apps, the implications of writing multi-threaded code, and techniques to manage memory in an efficient way. The final chapters demonstrate how to debug your code, whether it resides in apps or in the Linux kernel itself. You’ll also cover the different tracers and profilers that are available for Linux so that you can quickly pinpoint any performance bottlenecks in your system. By the end of this Linux book, you’ll be able to create efficient and secure embedded devices using Linux.
Table of Contents (27 chapters)
1
Section 1: Elements of Embedded Linux
10
Section 2: System Architecture and Design Decisions
18
Section 3: Writing Embedded Applications
22
Section 4: Debugging and Optimizing Performance

Separating metadata into layers

Yocto metadata is organized around the following concepts:

  • distro: OS features, including choice of C library, init system, and
    window manager
  • machine: CPU architecture, kernel, drivers, and bootloader
  • recipe: Application binaries and/or scripts
  • image: Development, manufacturing, or production

These concepts map directly to actual byproducts of the build system, thus offering us guidance when designing our projects. We could rush to assemble everything inside a single layer, but that would likely result in a project that is inflexible and unmaintainable. Hardware inevitably gets revised, and one successful consumer device quickly multiplies into a series of products. For these reasons, it is better to adopt a multi-layered approach early on so that we end up with software components that we can easily modify, swap out, and reuse.

At a minimum, you should create individual distribution, BSP, and application layers for every...