Linux platform Builder
Implementation of integrated development environment
Author: Gu Feng,
You can go through the gufeng@126.com
Contact him.
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PurposeThe problem to be solved in the last letter of development on Embedded Linux is the lack of development tools and the chaos in the development process. Development involves multiple aspects such as bootloader, kernel, driver, file system, graphic user interface, and display application. In each part of development, it also has its own set of tools and steps, this makes the development process cumbersome and the standards are not uniform. At the same time, development tools run in the Linux text environment, which is slow for developers who are used to the Windows environment on Windows. Therefore, I think it is necessary to develop an integrated development environment for the display software system. Currently, the name is Linux platform Builder (LPB ). the software will cover all aspects of the current embedded Linux development process: the software automatically detects the currently connected target system, avoiding the tedious modification of the network configuration process; relatively independent menu items and detailed description documents allow developers to freely select the areas to be developed and focus on the code compilation process; comprehensive system testing and debugging functions can easily identify system defects. The CVS version control function ensures the robustness of code files and is suitable for collaborative development by multiple people; the Java-based integrated development environment can run on Windows, Linux, UNIX, and other operating system platforms. The system can be used as a software supporting a hardware product. functions can be divided into System Development versions, application development versions, system maintenance versions, and production versions based on the user's needs, while standardizing the development process, it simplifies the development steps and difficulty. The system can also help develop devices based on other operating systems, such as VxWorks, because the software is platform-independent, and the connection between the target machine and the PC development platform is only through the network and serial port. The code generation on different platforms is only different from that on the compiler. The difference between the target machine processor is only the upper-layer processing script of the tool.
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System Usage Technology and functional architectureThe development of this system is based on Eclipse software. This software is specially used to develop tools and is developed based on Java. There is a plugin. xml file under the Software Directory. modify this file to customize the functions of the integrated development environment to be developed. 2.1 ide framework functions first, the software needs to provide complete basic ide functions, including file opening and closing, code editing and deletion, and multi-window view display, this ensures that you can easily edit code in multiple files for development. 2.2 graphical programming tools are integrated to facilitate the development of Linux-based applications, generate the executable file of the application through cross-compilation. The selection of these development tools is related to the GUI system used on the target hardware board. If the target hardware uses tinyx, we recommend that you use fltk + fluid to develop interface programs, this is an open-source software. You can design your own controls and add them to the system control library. Then, you can easily use them by drag and drop. Another advantage of using this tool is that it is platform-independent and has a corresponding version on windows, so it can be integrated into the integrated development environment. 2.3 BSP development this function can be used to develop system firmware, including the development of bootloader, kernel and driver. This feature allows you to easily configure system firmware, add required system functions and drivers, and click "generate" to generate system firmware. In Windows, you can develop and compile drivers in Linux, because the driver compilation only requires the kernel header file, but 2. 4 kernel and 2.6 kernel file formats are different and need to be converted. 2.4 target code download and debugging this function mainly enables downloading system firmware, including the application to the target code, and remote debugging of the application. Debugging functions include single-step debugging, breakpoint setting, and so on. At the same time, the application interface is displayed on a PC, which transmits the display data to the PC through Ethernet. 2.5 complete system testing product design must include testing functions, including testing of the Minimum Operating System, SDRAM testing, flash testing, and driver testing package ldtk (Linux driver test kit) and the test of each interface device. 2.6 The Version Control Function of CVS communicates with the CVS server to obtain the latest code at any time to ensure the uniformity of system files.
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1 Linux platform Builder
System function divisionTherefore, the Technical Division implemented by the integrated development tool should include three parts. The first is the interface function of the integrated development environment on the upper layer. This is based on Eclipse development and has been mentioned earlier; the second part is to write a communication program that communicates with the target hardware. It has two copies, respectively stored on the target hardware board and PC, responsible for transmitting various requirements of developers; finally, the various test programs of the system should be stored on the PC. When the system function needs to be tested, the communication program should be downloaded to the target board for running. The above is a place to note when developing an embedded Linux environment integrated development environment. Currently, this software has been implemented on Samsung's arm chips, the XScale-based chips are being implemented.
