Buildroot - Build
Contents
Introduction
In this topic you will build Buildroot so you can create binary image files ready to copy onto a SD Memory card using a default or custom configuration for the target: ATSAMA5D27-SOM1-EK1 Evaluation Kit.
The build process will initiate a series of actions that will download and compile the software that you configured during the configuration process. Be aware that the build process can take several hours to complete.
Prerequisites
Download
You have downloaded Buildroot following the instructions in the topic: Buildroot – Clone with Git.
Mandatory Packages for Buildroot
Before you build a project in Buildroot, ensure you have the mandatory software packages required. Mandatory and optional packages required by Buildroot are listed in the Buildroot User Manual: System Requirements.
Configuration
Before you can build the entire embedded system (cross-compilation toolchain, bootloaders, kernel, device tree, and target software packages) Buildroot must first be configured.
There are two methods in which you can perform the configuration:
- From a default configuration (defconfig) file, or
- Manually, creating a custom project.
If you are new to Buildroot, you may want to try a default configuration first to familiarize yourself with the process and ensure everything works. With this knowledge you gain from configuring a default configuration, you can customize your own Buildroot configuration for a custom project.
Build
Build Results
Once the build is completed, the results are stored in the ~/project_1/buildroot/output directory:
- Images – target binary images compiled by Buildroot.
- Build – software packages for the host and target that were built.
- Staging – directory structure resembling the root filesystem that Buildroot uses to compile libraries and applications for the target.
- Target – a staging area for the root file system for the target.
- Host – software packages fun on the host required by Buildroot.
In addition, the ~/project_1/buildroot/dl directory contains the compressed archives of the software packages Buildroot downloaded during the build.
Summary
Once Buildroot has been configured, the build process is straight forward. Buildroot will download and compile the software and place the results in the ~/project_1/buildroot/output directory.
What’s Next?
After the build is complete the next step is to copy the binary images to mass storage (SD Memory Card) so that you can boot Linux® on the ATSAMA5D27-SOM1-EK1 Evaluation Kit.
