Processor-specific notes

Let's look at what's different from the generic files listed above for each processor family. Since almost everything that's processor- and platform-specific in QNX Neutrino is contained in the kernel and startup programs, there's very little change required to go from an x86 with standard BIOS to, for example, an ARM evaluation board.

Specifying the processor
The first obvious difference is that you must specify the processor that the buildfile is for. This is actually a simple change; in the [virtual=…] line, substitute the x86 specification with armle-v7.

For example:

For this CPU: Use this attribute:
ARM (little-endian) [virtual=armle-v7,binary]
Specifying the startup program
Another difference is that the startup program is tailored not only for the processor family, but also for the actual board the processor runs on. If you're not running an x86 with a standard BIOS, you should replace the startup-bios command with one of the many startup-* programs we supply.

To find out what startup programs we currently provide, refer to the following sources:

  • the boards directory under bsp_working_dir/src/hardware/startup
  • QNX Neutrino docs (BSP docs as well as startup-* entries in the Utilities Reference)
  • the Community area of our website, www.qnx.com
Specifying the serial device
The examples listed previously provide support for the 8250 family of serial chips. Some non-x86 platforms support the 8250 family as well, but others have their own serial port chips.

For details on our current serial drivers, see:

  • devc-* entries in the Utilities Reference
  • the Community area of our website, www.qnx.com