This is the Sigma Designs release of the MIPS toolchain customized for the
SMP86xx family of chips.
Contents
1) Configuration
2) Build
3) Use
1) Configuration
The toolchain is minimally configurable. In order to build the toolchain, first
run 'make menuconfig' in order to configure your future toolchain.
The main option that you will be interested in is 'Toolchain Options --->', in
order to set which versions of gcc, uClibc, and binutils will be used in the
toolchain.
Two toolchains are supported by Sigma starting:
a) A GCC 3.4 based toolchain composed of :
- gcc 3.4.2
- binutils 2.15.91.0.2
- uClibc 0.9.27
which must be paired with busybox 1.0 from the rootfs package.
b) A GCC 4.0 based toolchain composed:
- gcc 4.0.4
- binutils 2.17
- uClibc 0.9.28.3
which must be paired with busybox 1.50 from the rootfs package.
These are the only two combinations of tools versions supported. By default,
the toolchain composed of gcc 3.4.2, binutils 2.15.91.0.2, uClibc 0.9.27 is built
in the toolchain package, and busybox 1.00 is built by default in the rootfs package.
Also of interest is the option 'Toolchain and header file location?'
under 'Build options', in order to choose where the toolchain will
be built. Please use an absolute directory for the value, although you are
allowed to use "well-known" variables of the build system, such as $(BASE_DIR),
which represents the build directory or $(BUILD_DIR), which represents the work
directory (build_<platform>).
The other option of interest under 'Build options' is 'Download site' where you
get to decide where the source packages will be downloaded from. The default
value is the Sigma Designs FTP server. If you have an up-to-date server that has
better bandwidth, you can use it instead. Note that you need to enter a URL
suitable for wget.
2) Build
When the toolchain is configured to suit your particular situation, you can
proceed and build it. The toolchain building process is monolithic. Just run
'make' at the prompt, and in 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the power of
your machine, you will get a brand new toolchain.
Note: given how long it takes to build the toolchain, we recommend that at
any given site, the toolchain be built only once and then shared over the
network.
3) Use
Once your toolchain is built, a configuration file named 'toolchain-path.env'
is created. You can then source the file in your shell (sh-compatible only) to
add your brand new toolchain to your path.
The toolchain being a cross-compilation toolchain, the usual tools (gcc, g++,
etc.) are prefixed with an identifier for the target platform, in this case
'mipsel-linux-'. So, in order to invoke the cross-compiling gcc, invoke
'mipsel-linux-gcc'