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Dummies guide to compiling uClinux? [message #10501]

Mon, 13 November 2023 06:56

tomstorey
Messages: 7
Registered: January 2022

Junior Member

Hi all,

I am working on a 68000 based design that I would really like to be able to run Linux on.

It should have everything needed to run Linux (or at least get started), such as 1MB of ROM, 2x UART, some timers and RTC, 4MB of DRAM, and most interesting of all an ethernet controller for network connectivity (hence running something like Linux may allow me to get it on to a network and doing something fun and cool). To date I have ported FreeRTOS+TCP and verified that everything works, including the ethernet controller (I can ping flood about 200pps), but FreeRTOS is more of an embedded "scheduler", and you need to write everything application wise to go around it.

As for uClinux I dont know where to start. I wonder if anyone knows of any "Dummies" guides to compiling it, explaining where to start and what to do each step of the way? I see so many people are getting it running on things as simple as a breadboard, so Im sure it can be done, its just the "how". Smile

Appreciate any guides/pointers/tips etc.

Thanks!

For those interested, Im doing some write ups about my board on Hackaday: https://hackaday.io/project/192539-comet68k

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Re: Dummies guide to compiling uClinux? [message #10505 is a reply to message #10501]

Tue, 14 November 2023 08:29

etchedpixels
Messages: 333
Registered: October 2015

Senior Member

ucLinux in effect stopped usefully working on small 68K boards about 2.2, and 2.0 is a lot more effective. There's also pretty much no useful userspace as it was intended to be deployed as kernel + single app in embedded ROM setups. It was, in practice, almost entirely used in the same way as FreeRTOS.

The best place to start is probably the 68K Katy web pages.

Some of the tools need old compilers and old toolchains some of which themselves can only easily be built with old compilers and toolchains so it's probably easiest to install a prehistoric Linux from the period on a VM fenced from the internet and build with that.

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Re: Dummies guide to compiling uClinux? [message #10506 is a reply to message #10505]

Wed, 15 November 2023 05:45

tomstorey
Messages: 7
Registered: January 2022

Junior Member

Ah right, so its probably just a more heavy weight FreeRTOS in reality then... and maybe not the silver bullet Im looking for?

Maybe I really need to look at building a 68030 based machine, that might be a bit more capable?

I found a Docker image that I think might have the full toolchain in it. Ive got to give it a test and see what it can/cant do.

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