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  • Christian Helmuth avatar

    On-target debugging with GDB on Sculpt OS 24.04


    With the recent Sculpt release, we introduced initial on-target debugging support to get the best from the ported GNU debugger (GDB) and our custom debug monitor that fuels the Sculpt runtime. This little hands-on introduction is completed by a live demo. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Crafting a modded Sculpt OS image in a few moderate steps


    I'd like to invite you to get playful with Sculpt OS. Because Sculpt OS is entirely Free Software, no user is bound to the decisions taken by us core developers. This article gives you tangible steps to start modding your user experience beyond the mere configuration level. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - Cutting Linux-driver competencies


    The previous episodes of the article series covered the challenges of transplanting complex driver code from the Linux kernel into Genode components. Once running happily in its new habitat, however, the driver code needs a heavy dose of domestication. This article shows how to curb the driver code from the overarching access of power, reset, pin, and clock controls. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - Display


    Having switched the development workflow from the Pine-A64-LTS board to the real deal - the PinePhone - in the previous article, it is time to turn our attention to the arguably most challenging parts of the hardware, namely the display subsystem. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - Networking


    This article walks through the challenge of porting a network driver from the Linux kernel to Genode. It thereby exemplifies Genode's device-driver environment approach for the reuse of unmodified Linux kernel code, touches crucial technicalities of the Linux kernel, and provides practical clues. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - Taking Linux out for a Walk


    In preparation of the porting of drivers from Linux to Genode, we have to gather knowledge about the drivers' natural habitat. This article goes through the steps of building a custom Linux system that is tailored to a driver of our choice. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - One Platform driver to rule them all


    In the previous article we exercised direct-device access from user-level components. In Genode systems beyond such toy scenarios, however, it would be irresponsible to follow the path of allowing arbitrary drivers to access any device willy-nilly. Our call for discipline and rigidity is answered by the (rising drum roll) platform driver. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - Device access from the user level


    Genode's peripheral device drivers live outside the kernel and have the form of regular user-level components. This article presents how the device-hardware access works under these conditions, while taking the general-purpose I/O pins of the Pine-A64-LTS single-board computer as playground. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - Kernel packaging and testing


    With our toes still a bit frozen from testing the waters of the user land, we now take the remaining steps towards a cultivated Genode life, largely automating our work flow, packaging the kernel, and testing the platform like there is no tomorrow. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - Excursion to the user land


    Equipped with the rudimentary debugging skills presented in the previous article, it is time to conquer the remaining stumbling blocks on our way to the user land. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - How did we come here?


    Some kids from the city once told me about programs called "debuggers". They also use a technology named "green light" to cross the streets. City kids. As we are still far away from urban territory, we are in need of the rural ways of debugging. What are our options? Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - Kernel skeleton


    Of the several kernels supported by the Genode OS framework, the so-called base-hw kernel is our go-to microkernel for ARM-based devices. Section Execution on bare hardware of the Genode Foundations book goes into detail about its underlying software design. This article describes the process of porting this kernel to a new board, specifically the Pine-A64-LTS single-board computer. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Pine fun - Bare-metal serial output


    For low-level kernel-bootstrapping work, we need a primitive way to print debug messages over a serial connection. This article goes through the steps of executing custom code on bare-metal hardware with no kernel underneath, and attaining serial output by poking UART device registers directly. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Warming up for some Pine fun


    I recently got my hands on a PinePhone along with a Pine64 board and have the aspiration to bring Sculpt OS to this platform. This is a very welcome opportunity to document the process of such a porting effort. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Porting Sculpt (1) - Preparations


    In my previous article, I presented an overview of undertaking the port of Sculpt OS to another SoC. Today, let us take a closer look at the first step - taking technical and non-technical preparations. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Compartmentalized window management in Sculpt OS


    When using Sculpt OS day-in day-out, the simple default window manager as introduced in the manual is quite limiting. This article presents an alternative that is able to remember window positions across reboots, swap out window decorations on the fly, and that empowers the user to modify the window layout directly via a textual interface. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Goa - publishing packages


    In the previous articles (1, 2, 3) about Goa, we created a minimalistic Unix system by combining Genode's ready-to-use building blocks with universally loved GNU software. Now it's time to publish our little creation so that it can be deployed directly on Sculpt OS. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Goa - sticking together a little Unix (part 3)


    In the previous article, we went from a first life sign of the bash shell to an interactive scenario. Today, we spice up our little system with the magic potion of Unix, namely the presence of a collection of useful utilities and a mechanism to combine them. If someone asked me for one word condensing the essence of Unix, it would be "pipe". Off we go, plumbing! Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Goa - sticking together a little Unix (part 2)


    Let us transcend the simplistic bash scenario created in part 1 and enter the stage of an interactive system. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Goa - sticking together a little Unix (part 1)


    Whereas the first article about Goa was concerned with building software using commodity build systems, this article takes you on a ride of creating a small Unix OS out of Genode's ready-to-use building blocks, publishing the result, and deploying it on top of Sculpt OS. Continue...

  • Norman Feske avatar

    Goa - streamlining the development of Genode applications


    The development of applications for Genode used to require a lot of learning about Genode's way of organizing source code, our custom build system, and the use of run scripts. With Goa, I introduce a new tool that aims at largely removing these burdens from application developers. Continue...

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