Building an Embedded Linux Development Environment for NXP i.MX6ULL: Practical Experience for Professional Developers

Building an Embedded Linux Development Environment for NXP i.MX6ULL: Practical Experience for Professional Developers

Introduction

The NXP i.MX6ULL is favored in industrial control and IoT fields due to its excellent performance-to-power ratio and rich peripheral resources. Establishing a complete development environment is a crucial foundation for embedded Linux development. This article will detail how to set up a professional i.MX6ULL development environment suitable for engineers engaged in low-level driver development and application programming.

Hardware and Software Requirements

Hardware Requirements:

• i.MX6ULL Development Board
• Power Adapter (12V/2A)
• USB to Serial Module (TTL Level)
• SD Card (8GB or more, Class 10)

Software Requirements:

• Host System: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
• U-Boot Source Code (2023.07)
• Linux Kernel (5.15 LTS)
• Yocto Project (kirkstone)
• NXP Official Toolchain (gcc-arm-none-eabi-10)

Development Environment Overview

The development environment uses the officially supported NXP toolchain, combined with the Yocto Project to build a complete embedded Linux system. It supports TFTP network booting through U-Boot, facilitating development and debugging. The system is constructed using a layered architecture, making it easier for future customization and maintenance.

Preparing the Host Development Environment

# Install basic development packages
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y gawk wget git diffstat unzip texinfo gcc-multilib \
     build-essential chrpath socat cpio python3 python3-pip python3-pexpect \
     xz-utils debianutils iputils-ping python3-git python3-jinja2 libegl1-mesa \
     libsdl1.2-dev pylint3 xterm

# Create working directory
mkdir -p ~/imx6ull-project
cd ~/imx6ull-project

Cross-Compilation Toolchain Configuration

# Download and configure NXP toolchain
wget https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu-rm/10-2020q4/gcc-arm-none-eabi-10-2020-q4-major-x86_64-linux.tar.bz2
tar xjf gcc-arm-none-eabi-10-2020-q4-major-x86_64-linux.tar.bz2

# Set environment variables
export PATH=~/imx6ull-project/gcc-arm-none-eabi-10-2020-q4-major/bin:$PATH
export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-none-eabi-
export ARCH=arm

U-Boot Compilation Configuration

# Get U-Boot source code
git clone https://source.denx.de/u-boot/u-boot.git
cd u-boot
git checkout v2023.07

# Configure and compile U-Boot
make mx6ull_14x14_evk_defconfig
make -j4

Kernel Configuration and Compilation

# Get Linux kernel source code
git clone https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git
cd linux
git checkout v5.15

# Configure and compile kernel
make imx_v6_v7_defconfig
make -j4 zImage dtbs modules

Yocto Environment Configuration

# Get Yocto base environment
git clone -b kirkstone git://git.yoctoproject.org/poky.git
cd poky

# Initialize build environment
source oe-init-build-env build-imx6ull

# Add NXP BSP layer
git clone -b kirkstone git://source.codeaurora.org/external/imx/meta-imx
bitbake-layers add-layer ../meta-imx/meta-bsp

System Image Build

# Modify conf/local.conf
echo 'MACHINE = "imx6ull14x14evk"' >> conf/local.conf
echo 'DISTRO = "fsl-imx-fb"' >> conf/local.conf

# Build system image
bitbake core-image-minimal

Flashing and Booting the Development Board

# Flash SD card
sudo dd if=tmp/deploy/images/imx6ull14x14evk/core-image-minimal-imx6ull14x14evk.wic \
     of=/dev/sdX bs=1M status=progress

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Missing Compilation Dependencies: Execute<span>sudo apt-get install -y [missing package name]</span>
2. Device Tree Loading Failure: Check if the DTB file is correctly compiled and copied to the boot partition
3. Network Configuration Issues: Ensure the corresponding network drivers are enabled in the kernel configuration

Development Environment Optimization Suggestions

• Configure Eclipse CDT IDE to support remote debugging
• Use NFS root filesystem to speed up development and debugging efficiency
• Set up a TFTP server to support network booting

Conclusion

After completing the above configurations, you will have a professional i.MX6ULL development environment. This environment supports kernel development, driver writing, and application development. It is recommended to further study device tree configuration, boot process optimization, and other professional skills.

Do you need me to elaborate on any specific part? I can provide more detailed configuration steps and practical experience sharing.