2.6. The OpenEmbedded Build System Workflow

The OpenEmbedded build system uses a "workflow" to accomplish image and SDK generation. The following figure overviews that workflow:

Following is a brief summary of the "workflow":

  1. Developers specify architecture, policies, patches and configuration details.

  2. The build system fetches and downloads the source code from the specified location. The build system supports standard methods such as tarballs or source code repositories systems such as Git.

  3. Once source code is downloaded, the build system extracts the sources into a local work area where patches are applied and common steps for configuring and compiling the software are run.

  4. The build system then installs the software into a temporary staging area where the binary package format you select (DEB, RPM, or IPK) is used to roll up the software.

  5. Different QA and sanity checks run throughout entire build process.

  6. After the binaries are created, the build system generates a binary package feed that is used to create the final root file image.

  7. The build system generates the file system image and a customized Extensible SDK (eSDSK) for application development in parallel.

For a very detailed look at this workflow, see the "OpenEmbedded Build System Concepts" section.