Book Image

Mastering Embedded Linux Programming

By : Chris Simmonds
Book Image

Mastering Embedded Linux Programming

By: Chris Simmonds

Overview of this book

Mastering Embedded Linux Programming takes you through the product cycle and gives you an in-depth description of the components and options that are available at each stage. You will begin by learning about toolchains, bootloaders, the Linux kernel, and how to configure a root filesystem to create a basic working device. You will then learn how to use the two most commonly used build systems, Buildroot and Yocto, to speed up and simplify the development process. Building on this solid base, the next section considers how to make best use of raw NAND/NOR flash memory and managed flash eMMC chips, including mechanisms for increasing the lifetime of the devices and to perform reliable in-field updates. Next, you need to consider what techniques are best suited to writing applications for your device. We will then see how functions are split between processes and the usage of POSIX threads, which have a big impact on the responsiveness and performance of the final device The closing sections look at the techniques available to developers for profiling and tracing applications and kernel code using perf and ftrace.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
Mastering Embedded Linux Programming
Credits
Foreword
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Summary


One of the strengths of Linux is that it can support a wide range of root filesystems which allow it to be tailored to suit a wide range of needs. We have seen that it is possible to construct a simple root filesystem manually with a small number of components, and that BusyBox is especially useful in this regard. By going through the process one step at a time, it has given us insight into some of the basic workings of Linux systems, including network configuration and user accounts. However, the task rapidly becomes unmanageable as devices get more complex. And, there is the ever-present worry that there may be a security hole in the implementation which we have not noticed. In the next chapter, we will look at using embedded build systems to help us out.