Getting started with Yocto Project - Chris Simmons - NDC TechTown 2022

Embedded computing is very diverse. The majority of devices use ARM architecture processors, but RISC-V is gaining in popularity, and there is of course x86. Each device has its own requirements and constraints. To cope with this diversity, we need tools to build the operating system and fundamental applications. Yocto Project is the tool most often used.

In this talk I will show you how to get started with Yocto, first using QEMU to create an emulated target board, and then using a Raspberry Pi. I will describe the basics of Yocto: Distro, Machine, Image. I will talk about Bitbake and bitbake recipes and I will show how recipes can be gathered together into layers. If you want to get a head start with Yocto Project and embedded Linux, this is the talk for you

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[jeffgros]

Great content. My favorite part was how the content was presented. Not only are the slides shown, but the camera is doing a good job of tracking the presenter. So regardless of what I need to focus on, I can get what I need. This sounds obvious, but it's not. I cannot tell you how many presentations I've watched where the presenter says "study this piece of code for a few minutes" and the cameraman spends 2 minutes watching the presenter drink water (whereas I spend those two minutes insulting the cameraman's parentage). Well done!

[sairampothuraju]

00:12 Introducing Yocto Project for embedded systems
02:34 Designing custom computer boards for volume and economic benefits
07:34 Yocto Project is widely used in various open source projects and popular devices.
10:09 Evolution of Yocto Project from OpenEmbedded and Poky Linux
15:10 Yocto Project setup involves initializing the shell and configuring variables.
17:33 Understanding Yocto Project layers and configuration
22:09 Yocto Project images are specified by recipes and can be customized for specific needs.
24:16 Configuring Yocto Project for QEMU Arm 32-bit machine
28:43 Creating and using disk images in Yocto Project
30:53 Setting up variables and paths for pre-loaded Shared State cache and downloads
35:39 Yocto Project supports various components and tools beyond BSP and distros.
38:04 Adding software to Yocto Project
43:02 Demonstration of creating and editing text files using Nano in Yocto Project
46:01 A recipe in Yocto Project contains instructions to fetch, configure, compile, and install a software component.
50:25 Adding packages to the Yocto Project Target
53:09 Yocto Project is an industry standard for embedded Linux systems.
58:33 Board Support Packages and Kernel Replacement
1:00:55 Licensing in Yocto Project overview

[rosskappa]

Pretty amazing lecture! Helped immensely for a beginner like me to grasp all the technicality and terms and put it together into a working build.

[terranceparker]

Your Embedded Linux lecture and this lecture helped me immensely understand the development enviroment for Cortex-A MPUs.

[bayroncabrera]

Amazing introduction, thank you very much !

[bobby]

Mr. Simmonds, can you also make Advanced Yocto videos instead of always Introduction videos (thanks for that btw)

[lornarmac]

I'm really enjoyed this, but I don't understand the statement that LG (WebOS) TVs etc are "running yocto", minute ~8 - 10)? Does that really mean that they are running distributions that have been built using yocto?

[edgeeffect]

I've used buildroot in the past (because I was working with OpenWRT) but the people at my old job were always on about Yokto, Poke-ey (they used the wrong pronunciation) and Bit-Bake.
I'd love to see a side-by-side comparison of the two from somebody who's used both and doesn't have any allegiance to either. I get the feeling that Yokto is the way to go but devs love shiny things.

[maxtruxa]

The comment regarding BSP kernels is incorrect. One of the great things about Yocto is that you can override pretty much anything. That includes `PREFERRED_PROVIDER_virtual/linux`, and the BSP kernel recipe's `DEFAULT_PREFERENCE`. Using various combinations of these you can select any kernel you want. You will of course want to select a kernel that supports your board.
Great talk otherwise!

[cornjulio]

Gosh ! This is extremely dry. I know I will not follow this one as a step-by-step guide ever.