What is the BeagleBoard?

http://beagleboard.org/static/beagleboard_flyer.pdf

BeagleBoard.org is an open hardware project featuring two designs:

• BeagleBoard-xM: Open software desktop experience with extra MHz and extra memory
• BeagleBone: Hardware I/O focus with single cable development experience

BeagleBoard.org designs have a common philosophy:

• Bring your own peripherals ^[1]
• Entry level cost
• ARM Cortex-A8 (superscalar)
• Graphics (and possibly DSP) accelerated
• Linux and open source community
• Environment for innovators

BeagleBone Details

http://beagleboard.org/bone

Services running on the BeagleBone

 

• Some web-based services running on your board to be explored
  • Write applications directly in the browser: Cloud9 IDE
  • Access the Linux shell: GateOne

Programming an SD card

 

• First, make sure you have an appropriately size microSD card and an adapter for your PC
• Linux and Mac OS X
  • Learn to use 'dd' and 'gzip'
  • Know which /dev/sdX or /dev/diskX is your SD card through use of 'dmesg'
  • Example
    

    zcat XXX.img.gz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=64M

• Windows
  • Use 7-zip to decompress the XXX.img.gz file
  • Use Ubuntu Win32DiskImager to write it to your microSD card

Finding pre-configured SD card images

 

• Checkout these sources for BeagleBoard/BeagleBoard-xM Linux images (that may likely soon include BeagleBone images):
  • Angstrom Narcissus Image Assembler
  • BeagleBoard Ubuntu
  • Rowboat (Android)
  • Linaro
• Can might also find images for Windows Compact Embedded 7, QNX, RISC OS, Puppy Bits, Symbian, Debian, Gentoo, Fedora, ...
• Check out the registered projects
• Encourage project owners to supply SD card images

Why work with community?

 

• Faster innovation
  • Off-cycle development
  • Engage innovators
  • Direct peer interaction
• Better solutions
  • Expert peer review
  • Community support
  • Early feedback

Why push code to mainline?

 

• Stable snapshot development
  • Increases stability
  • Isolates from community
  • High update cost with reduced support and external contribution
• Community synchronized
  • Increased potential churn
  • Leverages the community
  • Requires defined method for maintaining value-add

Engaging the community

Ask questions the smart way

• Before you ask
  • Learn about the on-line resources and documentation
  • Try to find the answer yourself
  • Don't assume you are entitled to an answer
• Ask in the right way in the right place
  • Question should be easy to answer for someone who knows
  • Detail your objective, what you tried and the results
  • Use meaningful and specific subject headers
  • Using the on-line chat can help you formulate your question for the mailing list
• Listen to the answers, even if they seem unhelpful
• Share useful lessons you learn

What do I work with the community on?

 

• There are hundreds of projects with BeagleBoard-specific interest
• It is really up to your heart's desire
• Linux is known for its community
• Many communities build upon Linux
• Let's start with the projects required to boot Linux

Typical BeagleBone boot process

The five phases

1. ROM loads u-boot SPL (MLO)
   • Default location is /media/mmcblk0p1/MLO
   • Performs external DRAM configuration
2. u-boot SPL (MLO) loads u-boot
   • Default location is /media/mmcblk0p1/u-boot.img
3. u-boot executes default environment/commands
   • Default location is /media/mmcblk0p1/uEnv.txt
   • By default, 'uenvcmd' variable is executed
4. Commands load kernel
   • Default location is /media/mmcblk0p1/uImage
5. Kernel reads root file system

Baseline software

http://beagleboard.org/linux

• U-boot
  • BeagleBoard-patched u-boots
• Linux Kernel
  • BeagleBoard-patched kernels
• OE-core based BSP

Highlighted community projects

 

• Android Rowboat
• Linaro
• Yocto Project

Linaro

www.linaro.org

• Linaro is a non-profit formed in June 2010
  • "to make it easier for ARM partners to deploy the latest technology into optimized Linux based products"
• Started by ARM
  • with Texas Instruments, Freescale, IBM, Samsung and ST Ericsson
• Focused on improving core open source tools and components for ARM Cortex-A processors
  • Compiler, debugger, profiler, kernel and middleware
  • Validation of efforts done with Ubuntu and Android
• Includes "landing teams" for SoC vendors
• The BeagleBoard-xM is one of their release platforms

Yocto

www.yoctoproject.org

• Yocto is a Linux Foundation project started in April 2011
  • "and is an open source collaboration project that provides templates, tools and methods to help you create custom Linux-based systems for embedded products regardless of the hardware architecture."
• The advisory board includes members from several key silicon vendors, embedded Linux suppliers and the OpenEmbedded community
  • including representation from Texas Instruments, Intel, Mentor Graphics, MontaVista, TimeSys and Dell
• Building on OpenEmbedded technology and providing board support package (BSP) development tools for embedded platforms
  • Committed to support ARM, PPC, MIPS, x86 and x86-64 ISAs
  • Aligned with the OpenEmbedded community through OE-core
• The BeagleBoard-xM is their ARM reference platform

Thanks!

 

• There's more to come. Please join us in improving this project for the benefit of both yourself and others.