Summary

Using a build system takes the hard work out of creating an embedded Linux system, and it is almost always better than hand crafting a roll-your-own system. There is a range of open source build systems available these days: Buildroot and the Yocto Project represent two different approaches. Buildroot is simple and quick, making it a good choice for fairly simple single-purpose devices: traditional embedded Linux as I like to think of them. The Yocto Project is more complex and flexible. It is package based, meaning that you have the option to install a package manager and perform updates of individual packages in the field. The meta layer structure makes it easy to extend the metadata, and indeed there is good support throughout the community and industry for the Yocto Project. The downside is that there is a very steep learning curve: you should expect it to take several...