How does one set an OpenEmbedded/Yocto/Poky/Angstrom build? There are many options. Some include:
(I’m sure there are many others, feel free to add in comments …)
Over the past years, we’ve supported a number of customers using OpenEmbedded to develop products using various SOC’s. We also try to keep builds going for a number of different systems so that we can continuously evaluate the state of OpenEmbedded and related Embedded Linux technologies. We also needed a standard way to set up builds for customers (some don’t have a lot of experience with OE and Git) that is simple and consistent. What we ended up with is the BEC OpenEmbedded build template.
The goal is to have a quick entry point into OpenEmbedded that includes the necessary layers for a number of different machines, and automates a number of routine tasks such as installing images to a SD card, setting up a development feed server, etc. The build template is only updated when the build is stable and tested on a number of machines, so it provides a series of stable snapshots of OpenEmbedded and associated layers.
This build template currently tracks the master branches for all the layers used. This gives us a platform to track the latest OE changes. With most projects, that ability to use the features in the latest versions of software outweighs the stability benefits of OpenEmbedded release branches. There are times when the OpenEmbedded project goes through invasive changes (such as the systemd integration), and using the master branches is not practical, so in this case we simply use the last stable snapshot that builds and works. In most cases if there are issues, simply report or fix the issue and wait a week.
Perhaps the most controversial decision is the use of Git submodules for including OpenEmbedded layers. The Internet is full of rants against Git submodules. For heavy developer use, submodules may not be optimal. However, from a user perspective, Git submodules provide a simple mechanism for including external repositories in a project. If most of the submodules (OE layers) won’t be touched (typical OE user scenario), submodules work very well. The fact that Git locks down submodules to a specific commit ensures you are getting exactly what you think you are getting (vs a branch that may have been rebased, modified etc). If the git hash matches, you can be pretty sure it is the same as the last time you built it. This is an important factor in production build systems where you want to be sure of what you are building. Google repo is another option under consideration, but there are still some trade-offs to work through.
In the end, build systems are very personal, and must be customized for your product and development team. The number one requirement for a an Embedded Linux build system is that you can get repeatable builds with a single command. There must be no manual steps where human error can be introduced. This is just one way to accomplish this goal.
(2023-09-05 update: the BEC OE Build template has been replaced by the Yoe Distribution)