README

#
# (C) Copyright 2000 - 2008
# Wolfgang Denk, DENX Software Engineering, wd@denx.de.
#
# See file CREDITS for list of people who contributed to this
# project.
#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
# modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
# published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
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#
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# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.	See the
# GNU General Public License for more details.
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# along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
# Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston,
# MA 02111-1307 USA
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Summary:
========

This directory contains the source code for U-Boot, a boot loader for
Embedded boards based on PowerPC, ARM, MIPS and several other
processors, which can be installed in a boot ROM and used to
initialize and test the hardware or to download and run application
code.

The development of U-Boot is closely related to Linux: some parts of
the source code originate in the Linux source tree, we have some
header files in common, and special provision has been made to
support booting of Linux images.

Some attention has been paid to make this software easily
configurable and extendable. For instance, all monitor commands are
implemented with the same call interface, so that it's very easy to
add new commands. Also, instead of permanently adding rarely used
code (for instance hardware test utilities) to the monitor, you can
load and run it dynamically.


Status:
=======

In general, all boards for which a configuration option exists in the
Makefile have been tested to some extent and can be considered
"working". In fact, many of them are used in production systems.

In case of problems see the CHANGELOG and CREDITS files to find out
who contributed the specific port. The MAINTAINERS file lists board
maintainers.


Where to get help:
==================

In case you have questions about, problems with or contributions for
U-Boot you should send a message to the U-Boot mailing list at
<u-boot-users@lists.sourceforge.net>. There is also an archive of
previous traffic on the mailing list - please search the archive
before asking FAQ's. Please see
http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/u-boot-users/


Where to get source code:
=========================

The U-Boot source code is maintained in the git repository at
git://www.denx.de/git/u-boot.git ; you can browse it online at
http://www.denx.de/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?p=u-boot.git;a=summary

The "snapshot" links on this page allow you to download tarballs of
any version you might be interested in. Official releases are also
available for FTP download from the ftp://ftp.denx.de/pub/u-boot/
directory.

Pre-built (and tested) images are available from
ftp://ftp.denx.de/pub/u-boot/images/


Where we come from:
===================

- start from 8xxrom sources
- create PPCBoot project (http://sourceforge.net/projects/ppcboot)
- clean up code
- make it easier to add custom boards
- make it possible to add other [PowerPC] CPUs
- extend functions, especially:
  * Provide extended interface to Linux boot loader
  * S-Record download
  * network boot
  * PCMCIA / CompactFlash / ATA disk / SCSI ... boot
- create ARMBoot project (http://sourceforge.net/projects/armboot)
- add other CPU families (starting with ARM)
- create U-Boot project (http://sourceforge.net/projects/u-boot)
- current project page: see http://www.denx.de/wiki/UBoot


Names and Spelling:
===================

The "official" name of this project is "Das U-Boot". The spelling
"U-Boot" shall be used in all written text (documentation, comments
in source files etc.). Example:

	This is the README file for the U-Boot project.

File names etc. shall be based on the string "u-boot". Examples:

	include/asm-ppc/u-boot.h

	#include <asm/u-boot.h>

Variable names, preprocessor constants etc. shall be either based on
the string "u_boot" or on "U_BOOT". Example:

	U_BOOT_VERSION		u_boot_logo
	IH_OS_U_BOOT		u_boot_hush_start


Versioning:
===========

U-Boot uses a 3 level version number containing a version, a
sub-version, and a patchlevel: "U-Boot-2.34.5" means version "2",
sub-version "34", and patchlevel "4".

The patchlevel is used to indicate certain stages of development
between released versions, i. e. officially released versions of
U-Boot will always have a patchlevel of "0".


Directory Hierarchy:
====================

- board		Board dependent files
- common	Misc architecture independent functions
- cpu		CPU specific files
  - 74xx_7xx	Files specific to Freescale MPC74xx and 7xx CPUs
  - arm720t	Files specific to ARM 720 CPUs
  - arm920t	Files specific to ARM 920 CPUs
    - at91rm9200 Files specific to Atmel AT91RM9200 CPU
    - imx	Files specific to Freescale MC9328 i.MX CPUs
    - s3c24x0	Files specific to Samsung S3C24X0 CPUs
  - arm925t	Files specific to ARM 925 CPUs
  - arm926ejs	Files specific to ARM 926 CPUs
  - arm1136	Files specific to ARM 1136 CPUs
  - at32ap	Files specific to Atmel AVR32 AP CPUs
  - i386	Files specific to i386 CPUs
  - ixp		Files specific to Intel XScale IXP CPUs
  - leon2	Files specific to Gaisler LEON2 SPARC CPU
  - leon3	Files specific to Gaisler LEON3 SPARC CPU
  - mcf52x2	Files specific to Freescale ColdFire MCF52x2 CPUs
  - mcf5227x	Files specific to Freescale ColdFire MCF5227x CPUs
  - mcf532x	Files specific to Freescale ColdFire MCF5329 CPUs
  - mcf5445x	Files specific to Freescale ColdFire MCF5445x CPUs
  - mcf547x_8x	Files specific to Freescale ColdFire MCF547x_8x CPUs
  - mips	Files specific to MIPS CPUs
  - mpc5xx	Files specific to Freescale MPC5xx  CPUs
  - mpc5xxx	Files specific to Freescale MPC5xxx CPUs
  - mpc8xx	Files specific to Freescale MPC8xx  CPUs
  - mpc8220	Files specific to Freescale MPC8220 CPUs
  - mpc824x	Files specific to Freescale MPC824x CPUs
  - mpc8260	Files specific to Freescale MPC8260 CPUs
  - mpc85xx	Files specific to Freescale MPC85xx CPUs
  - nios	Files specific to Altera NIOS CPUs
  - nios2	Files specific to Altera Nios-II CPUs
  - ppc4xx	Files specific to AMCC PowerPC 4xx CPUs
  - pxa		Files specific to Intel XScale PXA CPUs
  - s3c44b0	Files specific to Samsung S3C44B0 CPUs
  - sa1100	Files specific to Intel StrongARM SA1100 CPUs
- disk		Code for disk drive partition handling
- doc		Documentation (don't expect too much)
- drivers	Commonly used device drivers
- dtt		Digital Thermometer and Thermostat drivers
- examples	Example code for standalone applications, etc.
- include	Header Files
- lib_arm	Files generic to ARM	 architecture
- lib_avr32	Files generic to AVR32	 architecture
- lib_generic	Files generic to all	 architectures
- lib_i386	Files generic to i386	 architecture
- lib_m68k	Files generic to m68k	 architecture
- lib_mips	Files generic to MIPS	 architecture
- lib_nios	Files generic to NIOS	 architecture
- lib_ppc	Files generic to PowerPC architecture
- lib_sparc	Files generic to SPARC	 architecture
- libfdt	Library files to support flattened device trees
- net		Networking code
- post		Power On Self Test
- rtc		Real Time Clock drivers
- tools		Tools to build S-Record or U-Boot images, etc.

Software Configuration:
=======================

Configuration is usually done using C preprocessor defines; the
rationale behind that is to avoid dead code whenever possible.

There are two classes of configuration variables:

* Configuration _OPTIONS_:
  These are selectable by the user and have names beginning with
  "CONFIG_".

* Configuration _SETTINGS_:
  These depend on the hardware etc. and should not be meddled with if
  you don't know what you're doing; they have names beginning with
  "CFG_".

Later we will add a configuration tool - probably similar to or even
identical to what's used for the Linux kernel. Right now, we have to
do the configuration by hand, which means creating some symbolic
links and editing some configuration files. We use the TQM8xxL boards
as an example here.


Selection of Processor Architecture and Board Type:
---------------------------------------------------

For all supported boards there are ready-to-use default
configurations available; just type "make <board_name>_config".

Example: For a TQM823L module type:

	cd u-boot
	make TQM823L_config

For the Cogent platform, you need to specify the CPU type as well;
e.g. "make cogent_mpc8xx_config". And also configure the cogent
directory according to the instructions in cogent/README.


Configuration Options:
----------------------

Configuration depends on the combination of board and CPU type; all
such information is kept in a configuration file
"include/configs/<board_name>.h".

Example: For a TQM823L module, all configuration settings are in
"include/configs/TQM823L.h".


Many of the options are named exactly as the corresponding Linux
kernel configuration options. The intention is to make it easier to
build a config tool - later.


The following options need to be configured:

- CPU Type:	Define exactly one, e.g. CONFIG_MPC85XX.

- Board Type:	Define exactly one, e.g. CONFIG_MPC8540ADS.

- CPU Daughterboard Type: (if CONFIG_ATSTK1000 is defined)
		Define exactly one, e.g. CONFIG_ATSTK1002

- CPU Module Type: (if CONFIG_COGENT is defined)
		Define exactly one of
		CONFIG_CMA286_60_OLD
--- FIXME --- not tested yet:
		CONFIG_CMA286_60, CONFIG_CMA286_21, CONFIG_CMA286_60P,
		CONFIG_CMA287_23, CONFIG_CMA287_50

- Motherboard Type: (if CONFIG_COGENT is defined)
		Define exactly one of
		CONFIG_CMA101, CONFIG_CMA102

- Motherboard I/O Modules: (if CONFIG_COGENT is defined)
		Define one or more of
		CONFIG_CMA302

- Motherboard Options: (if CONFIG_CMA101 or CONFIG_CMA102 are defined)
		Define one or more of
		CONFIG_LCD_HEARTBEAT	- update a character position on
					  the LCD display every second with
					  a "rotator" |\-/|\-/

- Board flavour: (if CONFIG_MPC8260ADS is defined)
		CONFIG_ADSTYPE
		Possible values are:
			CFG_8260ADS	- original MPC8260ADS
			CFG_8266ADS	- MPC8266ADS
			CFG_PQ2FADS	- PQ2FADS-ZU or PQ2FADS-VR
			CFG_8272ADS	- MPC8272ADS

- MPC824X Family Member (if CONFIG_MPC824X is defined)
		Define exactly one of
		CONFIG_MPC8240, CONFIG_MPC8245

- 8xx CPU Options: (if using an MPC8xx CPU)
		CONFIG_8xx_GCLK_FREQ	- deprecated: CPU clock if
					  get_gclk_freq() cannot work
					  e.g. if there is no 32KHz
					  reference PIT/RTC clock
		CONFIG_8xx_OSCLK	- PLL input clock (either EXTCLK
					  or XTAL/EXTAL)

- 859/866/885 CPU options: (if using a MPC859 or MPC866 or MPC885 CPU):
		CFG_8xx_CPUCLK_MIN
		CFG_8xx_CPUCLK_MAX
		CONFIG_8xx_CPUCLK_DEFAULT
			See doc/README.MPC866

		CFG_MEASURE_CPUCLK

		Define this to measure the actual CPU clock instead
		of relying on the correctness of the configured
		values. Mostly useful for board bringup to make sure
		the PLL is locked at the intended frequency. Note
		that this requires a (stable) reference clock (32 kHz
		RTC clock or CFG_8XX_XIN)

- Intel Monahans options:
		CFG_MONAHANS_RUN_MODE_OSC_RATIO

		Defines the Monahans run mode to oscillator
		ratio. Valid values are 8, 16, 24, 31. The core
		frequency is this value multiplied by 13 MHz.

		CFG_MONAHANS_TURBO_RUN_MODE_RATIO

		Defines the Monahans turbo mode to oscillator
		ratio. Valid values are 1 (default if undefined) and
		2. The core frequency as calculated above is multiplied
		by this value.

- Linux Kernel Interface:
		CONFIG_CLOCKS_IN_MHZ

		U-Boot stores all clock information in Hz
		internally. For binary compatibility with older Linux
		kernels (which expect the clocks passed in the
		bd_info data to be in MHz) the environment variable
		"clocks_in_mhz" can be defined so that U-Boot
		converts clock data to MHZ before passing it to the
		Linux kernel.
		When CONFIG_CLOCKS_IN_MHZ is defined, a definition of
		"clocks_in_mhz=1" is automatically included in the
		default environment.

		CONFIG_MEMSIZE_IN_BYTES		[relevant for MIPS only]

		When transferring memsize parameter to linux, some versions
		expect it to be in bytes, others in MB.
		Define CONFIG_MEMSIZE_IN_BYTES to make it in bytes.

		CONFIG_OF_LIBFDT

		New kernel versions are expecting firmware settings to be
		passed using flattened device trees (based on open firmware
		concepts).

		CONFIG_OF_LIBFDT
		 * New libfdt-based support
		 * Adds the "fdt" command
		 * The bootm command automatically updates the fdt

		OF_CPU - The proper name of the cpus node.
		OF_SOC - The proper name of the soc node.
		OF_TBCLK - The timebase frequency.
		OF_STDOUT_PATH - The path to the console device

		boards with QUICC Engines require OF_QE to set UCC MAC
		addresses

		CONFIG_OF_BOARD_SETUP

		Board code has addition modification that it wants to make
		to the flat device tree before handing it off to the kernel

		CONFIG_OF_BOOT_CPU

		This define fills in the correct boot CPU in the boot
		param header, the default value is zero if undefined.