Comprehensive Real-World Guidance for Every Embedded Developer and Engineer
This book brings together indispensable knowledge for building efficient, high-value, Linux-based embedded products: information that has never been assembled in one place before. Drawing on years of experience as an embedded Linux consultant and field application engineer, Christopher Hallinan offers solutions for the specific technical issues you're most likely to face, demonstrates how to build an effective embedded Linux environment, and shows how to use it as productively as possible.
Hallinan begins by touring a typical Linux-based embedded system, introducing key concepts and components, and calling attention to differences between Linux and traditional embedded environments. Writing from the embedded developer's viewpoint, he thoroughly addresses issues ranging from kernel building and initialization to bootloaders, device drivers to file systems.
Hallinan thoroughly covers the increasingly popular BusyBox utilities; presents a step-by-step walkthrough of porting Linux to custom boards; and introduces real-time configuration via CONFIG_RT--one of today's most exciting developments in embedded Linux. You'll find especially detailed coverage of using development tools to analyze and debug embedded systems--including the art of kernel debugging.
• Compare leading embedded Linux processors
• Understand the details of the Linux kernel initialization process
• Learn about the special role of bootloaders in embedded Linux systems, with specific emphasis on U-Boot
• Use embedded Linux file systems, including JFFS2--with detailed guidelines for building Flash-resident file system images
• Understand the Memory Technology Devices subsystem for flash (and other) memory devices
• Master gdb, KGDB, and hardware JTAG debugging
• Learn many tips and techniques for debugging within the Linux kernel
• Maximize your productivity in cross-development environments
• Prepare your entire development environment, including TFTP, DHCP, and NFS target servers
• Configure, build, and initialize BusyBox to support your unique requirements
5.1.1. The Image Object
5.1.1. The Image Object
After the vmlinux kernel ELF file has been built, the kernel build system continues to process the targets described in Table 5-1. The Image object is created from the vmlinux object. Image is basically the vmlinux ELF file stripped of redundant sections (notes and comments) and also stripped of any debugging symbols that might have been present. The following command is used for this:
xscale_be-objcopy -O binary -R .note -R .comment -S
vmlinux arch/arm/boot/Image
In the previous objcopy command, the -O option tells objcopy to generate a binary file, the -R option removes the ELF sections named .note and .comment, and the -S option is the flag to strip debugging symbols. Notice that objcopy takes the vmlinux ELF image as input and generates the target binary file called Image. In summary, Image is nothing more than the kernel proper in binary form stripped of debug symbols and the .note and .comment ELF sections.
