System and method for building software package for embedded system

• US 8,028,268 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2006
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Xie, Weikai, Ye, Hang Jun, Yang, Yudong
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, RONGFA PHILIP
• Application Number:
  US11/472,014
• Publication Number:
  US 20070011494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,924 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/41 Compilation

Abstract

A method and system for building an embedded software package for a target system including creating a cross-compiling stub in the target system, wherein the stub accesses a compiling tool at a remote location, starting a software package building process at the target system, and intercepting a compiling command coming from said software package building process and forwarding the compiling commands to said remote compiling server using the cross-compiling tool stub so that a source file will be compiled by a corresponding cross-compiling tool in the remote compiling server. The method and system allow a developer of software for an embedded system be able to start a software package building process on the target system as in the native compilation situation, and have the actual compiling of the source file in the software package be performed by cross-compiling tools in another computer with high performance.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for building a software package in a target system, wherein the target system comprises a cross-compiling stub for accessing a cross-compiling tool in a remote compiling server, comprising the steps of:

starting a software package building process wherein the building process starts on the target system at which compiled code will run after compiling;

intercepting at least one compiling command coming from said software package building process;

forwarding the at least one compiling command to said remote compiling server by said cross-compiling tool stub, whereby a source file will be compiled by a cross-compiling tool in said remote compiling server; and

creating stubs for respective cross-compiling tools in the remote compiling server, wherein the cross-compiling tools in said compiling server include cross-preprocessor, cross-compiler, cross-assembler and cross-linker.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing an image of a file system of the target system in said compiling server.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said step of forwarding the compiling command to said remote compiling server further comprises:

forwarding the compiling command and a command line parameter from the building process on the target system to a building daemon on said compiling server by said cross-compiling tool stub;

invoking a corresponding cross-compiling tool in said remote compiling server by said building daemon with the received command line parameter; and

reading out a source file to be compiled in a source file package from the file system image of the target system in the compiling server according to said command line parameter, and compiling the source file to generate binary codes executable on the target system by said invoked corresponding cross-compiling tool.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

writing a compiling result of said source file into the file system image of the target system in the compiling server tool; and

reading the compiling result from the file system image of the target system in said compiling server and continuing subsequent software package building jobs by the building process on said target system.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

translating an absolute path present in said command line parameter as well as a “

#include”

line in the source file to be compiled into a corresponding path valid in the file name space of said compiling server.

6. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

setting a tool root directory of the invoked cross-compiling tool in the compiling server to the same path as a file root directory for the file system of the target system and copying executable files and libraries related to the invoked cross-compiling tool into the tool root directory.

7. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

setting a current working directory of the invoked cross-compiling tool in the compiling server to a path matching a current directory where the building process on the target system is located when invoking the corresponding cross-compiling tool stub.

8. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

redirecting standard inputs and outputs of the cross-compiling tool stub in said target system to a building daemon on said compiling server so as to communicate information about the building process.

9. A system for building a software package, comprising:

a compiling server that includes a building daemon for receiving a compiling tool invoking request from a target system and invoking a corresponding one of at least one cross-compiling tools based on the invoking request and at least one cross-compiling tool for compiling the specified source files into binary codes executable on the target system;

at least one cross-compiling tool stub deployed in the target system for intercepting a compiling command coming from a software package building process started on the target system and forwarding it to the compiling server, where the corresponding cross-compiling tool will compile the corresponding source file in the target system; and

a cross-compiling tool stub creating module in said target system, for interacting with the compiling server so as to create, in the target system, stubs for each of the cross-compiling tools in the remote compiling server, wherein the cross-compiling tools in said compiling server include cross-preprocessor, cross-compiler, cross-assembler and cross-linker.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein said compiling server further comprises:

a file system image of the target system, wherein said cross-compiling tool reads a specified source file to be compiled and related files from the file system image of the target system and writes at least one compiling result into the file system image.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein said compiling server further comprises:

a network file system for sharing the file system image of said target system between said compiling server and said target system.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein said building daemon further comprises:

a path translation module for performing one of translating an absolute path present in a command line parameter of an invocation request received from the target system into a corresponding path valid in a file name space of the compiling server and setting a tool root directory of the invoked cross-compiling tool in the compiling server to a same path as a root directory for the file system of the target system, and copying the executable files and libraries related to the invoked cross-compiling tool to the tool root directory; and

setting a current working directory of the invoked cross-compiling tool in the compiling server to a path matching a directory where the building process on the target system is located when invoking the cross-compiling tool stub.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein each of said cross-compiling tools comprises:

a path translation module for translating a path present in the “

#include”

line of the source file to be compiled into a corresponding path valid in the file name space of the compiling server.