Yocto Course
The Yocto Project provides well-maintained and up-to-date layers that support a wide range of architectures, including ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, and x86/x86 64.
It is a collaborative open-source project that assists developers in creating customized Linux-based systems regardless of the hardware architecture.
The Yocto Project offers a flexible set of tools and space where developers worldwide can share technologies, software repositories, configurations, and recommended workflows that can be used to create Linux images customized for embedded Linux devices and IoT, or anywhere a personalized Linux operating system is required.
The Yocto Project is a dedicated open-source project for the embedded field. While other Linux software is built for servers and workstations and then possibly adapted for embedded use cases, the Yocto Project enables the construction of custom distributions for embedded devices. In a diverse market with heterogeneous requirements, the project aims to define a common denominator for embedded development, regardless of the underlying hardware architecture.
The Yocto Project has evolved and become one of the major communities under the Linux Foundation's collaborative open-source umbrella. It brings together industry leaders, implements recommended workflows for open-source code, and defines the characteristics of embedded system development and the product lifecycle using the tools it offers.
The project provides a standard for delivering hardware and software support, enabling software configuration and building swaps. The tools allow users to build and support personalizations for multiple hardware platforms and software stacks in a maintainable and incremental manner.
Historically, the project has grown and collaborates with the Open Embedded project, from which the build system and some of the metadata are derived.
The Yocto Project integrates, maintains, and verifies three key development components:
The build system works with Poky to create "recipes" and layers (as defined below). You can modify, copy, or use the Poky build specifics in any way needed to create a customized, embedded Linux.
The Yocto Project employs a development model for creating embedded Linux that sets it apart from other simple build systems. This model is known as the Layer Model.
The Layer Model aims to support both collaboration and concurrent customization. Layers are repositories containing related sets of instructions that guide the build system on what to do. Users can collaborate, share, and modify layers. Layers can contain changes to instructions or previous definitions at any time.
This powerful abstraction capability allows you to tailor previous layers provided through collaboration or community efforts to match product requirements.
Utilize various layers to logically separate information on your system. For instance, you can have a BSP layer, a graphical user interface layer, a distribution configuration layer, an intermediate software layer, or an application layer. Place all the logic within each layer. The limitation of one layer and complexity implies future customization and recurring use. Isolating information into layers, on the other hand, simplifies future personalizations and facilitates reusability. Utilize BSP layers from silicon providers whenever possible.
Get acquainted with the Yocto Project's Layer Index. There's also the OpenEmbedded Layer Index, containing more layers, but with less universal verification.
In addition to its inherent capabilities, the Yocto Project has project features presented in one edition, which are usually expanded and perfected over several editions. In-depth information about the features can be found in "readme" files associated with editions and tools. This area provides a high-level overview of feature updates for the last three editions and general project features.
The project gathers infrastructure, recipes, and tools that are best-in-class for building distributions. This reduces duplication of effort, strengthens collaboration and recurring use between commercial and open-source communities. This leverages the advantages of other open-source projects, such as OpenEmbedded and Eclipse.
The Yocto Project is an open-source project aiming to create tools and processes that enable the creation of Linux distributions for embedded products not dependent on the underlying hardware architecture.
The Yocto Project provides tools, metadata, and processes that allow rapid, customizable deployment of embedded Linux systems, enabling personalization of every aspect of the development process.
Furthermore, it provides the ability to create a toolchain for cross compilation and a software development kit (SDK) that allows the development of:
This course teaches how to use open-source tools under the Yocto Project to create a personalized Linux operating system. The course will include integrated use of working on a virtual machine (using QEMU) and working with a Cotrex-A-based development board.
The Yocto course is suitable for:
The Yocto programming course is a hands-on course that includes frontal lectures and practical exercises.
The course includes:
Upon completing the course, each student will carry out a practical project that summarizes the knowledge acquired during the course.
Lectures are held once a week in the evening or morning hours.
Benny Cohen
Embedded Academy Founder and CEO
As a long-time veteran in the technology industry, Benny Cohen combines a deep passion for technology with extensive field experience. With a B.Sc. in Electronics Engineering and an M.Sc. in Communication Engineering, he has spent over 20 years developing software and hardware systems, including the last few years focusing on the cybersecurity industry. In addition to his role as the company founder & CEO, Benny also operates as a hands-on practitioner who specializes in penetration testing and has conducted significant security assessments for leading enterprises and security companies worldwide. His approachable teaching style and real-world expertise make learning both engaging and relevant.
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