Yocto Project provides open source tools to help developers create custom Linux distributions, especially for embedded use. Hardware support is widely available from large chip vendors, and one could say that Yocto is currently the de-facto standard for creating embedded Linux ditributions. Yocto also provides a well-defined workflow for application development. However, despite its wide adoption and populatity, it seems to fall somewhat short in the are of unit testing.
Continue reading “Exploring Approaches for Unit Testing with the Yocto SDK”Category: Linux
Building a Bluetooth DAC with Raspberry Pi Zero W
My car comes with a built-in Bluetooth hands-free but unfortunately it does not support audio streaming. Luckily there is an AUX input available which uses a regular 3,5 mm jack. Perfect opportunity for a DIY project. I built the Bluetooth DAC using Raspberry Pi Zero W and a DAC hat. This post depicts the details of this project. Continue reading “Building a Bluetooth DAC with Raspberry Pi Zero W”
Why and how to enable ARM Thumb-2 instruction set in Yocto
The ARM Thumb-2 instruction set is not a new thing. In fact it was announced already in 2003. Yet, the standard ARM instruction set is often still used because it is the default option, while Thumb-2 could be a better alternative. This post explains why the Thumb-2 can be a better option for many applications and also how to configure it in Yocto build system for Linux kernel, system libraries, utilities and user binaries. Continue reading “Why and how to enable ARM Thumb-2 instruction set in Yocto”
Access hardware from userspace with mmap – Atmel SAMA5D3x programming mode case study
I was working with a device that used Atmel SAMA5D3x MCU. Sometimes the devices needed to be re-flashed which required putting the MCU to programming mode. However, the device enclosure needed to be opened and also a jumper wire was needed to do this. Then I realized that it would be possible to enter the programming mode directly from Linux by manipulating boot sequence controller registers in the MCU. Writing a dedicated device driver for this seemed like an overkill so I wrote a simple utility application with mmap instead.
Using local MQTT broker for cloud and interprocess communication
Recently I was working on an embedded Linux IoT device that communicated with cloud using MQTT protocol. The software in the device was divided into multiple applications that also required interprocess communication. We ended up using MQTT also for the local communication, and it turned out to be a good decision. Continue reading “Using local MQTT broker for cloud and interprocess communication”
Improved git CLI with git-completion and git-prompt
Git-completion and git-prompt are scripts that provide versatile completion support as well as visualization of current branch and status when working from the command line. Even though I work with git daily I hadn’t bumped into these scripts until quite recently. They have proven to be very useful, so I decided to share this tip. Continue reading “Improved git CLI with git-completion and git-prompt”
How to use TPM for encryptions
Trusted platform module (TPM) is a secure element that can be used to securely generate and store keys. It has many possible uses, one of which is encryption of sensitive data. This article describes how to use TPM and tpm-tools package on Linux environment to encrypt different types of data, how to encrypt filesystem partitions and how to bind the encryption with device state.
Free books for Linux kernel enthusiasts
In the true open-source spirit, the authors of some great Linux kernel books have decided to make these books freely available for everyone. They are good material for anyone interested in the Linux kernel, and also a good reference for professionals working with the kernel. At least I have personally found these books very useful.
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