The submarine

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The submarine

Submarine Logo.svg
U-boot.png
Status output from U-Boot on a network router
Basic data

developer DENX software engineering
Current  version 2018.11-rc2
( October 16, 2018 )
programming language C.
category Bootloader
License GPL ( Free Software )
German speaking No
https://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot

The U-Boot ( The Universal Boot Loader ) is bootstrap software that can run on different processors, particularly on microcontrollers (including PowerPC , ARM , AVR32 , MIPS , Blackfin ). It is mainly used in the area of embedded systems .

Flexible configuration options during compilation make it possible to generate special variants for different applications. The behavior can also be influenced at runtime using extensive command line commands or a shell ( Hush from the BusyBox project) and persistently storable environment variables .

The development of the project is strongly based on Linux . Parts of the source code come from there. Special emphasis was placed on booting Linux images. The software can be compiled for the target platforms using a cross compiler on an x86 PC . Toolchains such as crosstool, the Embedded Linux Development Kit (ELDK) or OpenEmbedded provide support for this .

U-Boot is based on an 8xx PowerPC bootloader called 8xxROM from Magnus Damm. When the project moved to SourceForge , it was renamed PPCBoot, as there were no project names allowed that begin with numbers. The project was renamed again in November 2002 when support for a large number of other architectures was added.

After U-Boot was initially developed for PowerPC and at that time could not be used for ARM processors, the now independent project ARMboot split off.

The SourceForge project has now moved to GitHub .

Development process

The development process is similar to the Linux development process. A development cycle lasts two months. New features can be introduced in the first two weeks. After this merge window , changes can only be made in the next release that correct existing errors . Changes are introduced to the U-Boot mailing list in the form of e-mails with the appropriate patch .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ U-Boot Documentation - README file. Retrieved August 5, 2015 (Section: Names and Spelling).
  2. ↑ U-Boot v2018.11-rc2 released . October 16, 2018.
  3. ↑ git.denx.de . October 16, 2018.
  4. ↑ The DENX submarine and Linux Guide. Retrieved August 25, 2010 .
  5. ↑ a b PPCBoot Homepage: Authors. Retrieved August 25, 2010 .
  6. ↑ U-Bootdoc: History. Retrieved August 25, 2010 .
  7. ↑ https://github.com/u-boot
  8. ^ U-Boot Development Process. Retrieved November 22, 2011 .