I think this sort of thing should be separated out into two sub-projects. The
first is host-computer setup. The second is toolchain setup.
There are three main flavors of host computer. Windows, Linux, and the Mac OS
X. Don't forget this one as it's probably simpler to get running than Windows
since it's unix-like under the GUI.
Once you've established procedures to get your host OS to a usable state, then
you need to have procedures for building the toolchain. This is where I'm
currently at a standstill. I have a working toolchain that I can use with
XCode. But apparently the component versions aren't recent enough to allow me
to compile a 2.6 kernel. (I'm on a 7260). I used crosstool-NG to build
everything and Yann Morin is very helpful and regularly updates the tool.
As long as we're on this subject, I'd like to formally request that all boards
be updated with 2.6.
Also, for those of us trying to build toolchains and kernels, I think it's very
important that the settings and option choices used by TS to get things working
be made publicly available so we don't waste time trying options that don't
work.
Beyond that, IMHO a really good model for supporting the products is to look
how Microchip does things. Their tutorials and training tools are excellent.
IMHO, that's one reason why PICs are so ubiquitous. The Yahoo board is great
but a regularly maintained FAQ would be a good thing since you can't always
sift through hundreds of messages to find the pearl of wisdom. I'm sure there
are TS customers whose goal is to learn Linux and the nuances of kernels. I'd
wager that there are more people trying to build applications and products
based on the TS products. Requiring reinventing the wheel for every new
customer is a huge time-suck.
--- In "Derek" <> wrote:
>
> Hello All,
>
> Just wondering if there would be any interest in a TS virtual machine
> development environment. I have taken my personal time at home to work on a
> VirtualBox image that features some common commands, examples, and
> development packages for a free and easy, quick-start development solution.
> I believe it would be a valuable resource to those without a development
> Linux box or to those who would simply rather work from a virtual machine.
> The idea of putting together a VirtualBox image came from many tech support
> calls and emails I took the common ideas/questions the customers had and put
> them together in this virtual machine. Ideas/questions such as:
> "How do I image the SD card from Windows if Windows doesn't have the 'dd'
> command?"
> "How can I cross-compile a c program?"
> "How can I cross-compile a kernel?"
> "How can I develop a GTK+ GUI application?"
> "What about a generic Linux command cheat sheet?"
>
> Many of these solutions can be found scattered around on the embeddedarm.com
> website and ftp server, but I brought them together on the VirtualBox image.
> Some of the solutions can only exist on a Unix box (like the 'dd' example).
> These customers may not have time to invest in obtaining another PC and
> loading Linux onto it. They can sure save a lot of time by simply
> downloading two packages: VirtualBox installer and the ts-ubuntu.vdi.bz2
> image.
>
> The virtual machine is Ubuntu 9.10 (guest additions installed) with many
> development packages installed and many unnecessary packages removed. As it
> stands, the .vdi VirtualBox machine is at 742M compressed and 3.3G
> uncompressed. There is certainly some room for refinement here, but it
> depends on the interest.
>
> I chose Ubuntu 9.10 as the base because I want to offer the most
> user-friendly and popular Linux distribution so that it is easy and quick for
> people to start developing their products quickly with the smallest learning
> curve possible. Ubuntu has been flaunted and deemed as such by the majority
> of the Linux community. If implemented correctly, I could find a smaller
> distribution such as DSL or Puppy Linux and set them up to be user friendly
> as well.
>
> I chose VirtualBox because of it's user friendly interface, steady
> development, powerful features, large community support base, and
> cross-platform host support (Mac OSX, Linux, and Windows).
>
> I have been documenting as I go along as well. This is the guide I put
> together for setting up the VirtualBox machine:
> http://oz.embeddedarm.com/~derek/VB_Tutorial/VirtualBox_Guide.html
>
> DISCLAIMER: Technologic Systems doesn't have any plans to officially release
> a virtual machine development environment. This is a personal project that I
> enjoy working with. Again, this has all been done on my own time and is not
> the work of Technologic Systems. If I were to provide this VirtualBox image,
> it would be AS-IS with NO support other than what I have already provided.
> If there is enough interest, I'll swing it by the boss-man and see if he
> thinks this would be worthwhile.
>
> What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? Weaknesses? Strengths?
>
> I do have the image ready to upload if you'd like to give it a whirl. I just
> gotta figure out where I'm going to put it...
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Derek Hildreth
> Embedded Systems Engineer
> Technologic Systems
>
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