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Lecture 4 — Module 2: Architecture in one picture

Course: Yocto guide | Phase 2 — Embedded Linux, Yocto

Previous: Lecture 03 | Next: Lecture 05 — Module 3

1. Data flow (mental model)

Metadata in layers (conf/, recipes-*) flows into BitBake, which parses recipes plus MACHINE, DISTRO, and images. That produces a task graph: fetch, unpack, patch, configure, compile, install, package, then image. Output artifacts include RPM/IPK/DEB packages, rootfs, kernel, bootloader, and SDK.

2. Key objects

  • Recipe (.bb) — how to build one piece of software (or fetch a binary).
  • Append file (.bbappend) — your overlay changes without editing upstream recipes.
  • Layer — a folder of metadata + configuration, versioned as a unit.
  • Image recipe — defines what packages land on the root filesystem for this product image.
  • MACHINE — selects board-specific kernel/bootloader/firmware assumptions.
  • DISTRO — policy knobs: libc choices, init system preferences, security posture defaults (varies by distro layer).

3. Two configs you touch constantly

  • conf/bblayers.conf — which layers BitBake is allowed to read.
  • conf/local.conf — local machine settings: parallelism, download directory, extra image features, temporary tweaks.

Plain English: bblayers.conf is which rulebooks exist. local.conf is how your laptop or build server applies them.

4. Lab 2 — Draw your layer stack

On paper or a whiteboard, draw Poky/OE-Core at the bottom, your BSP layer when you have one, and your product layer on top. Mark which layer should own kernel tweaks, rootfs packages, systemd units, and version pins.

Done when: you can explain where a change should live before you open an editor.

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