[U-Boot] [NEXT PATCH v1 5/7] SPL: Added MLO for mx35 SOC to SPL Makefile

Tom Rini
2012-09-10T12:54:49Z

On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 5:44 AM, Stefano Babic <sbabic@denx.de> wrote:
> On 10/09/2012 14:27, Thomas Petazzoni wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>
> Hi Thomas,
>
>>> Exactly. The ROM does not understand a filesystem, and the SPL must be
>>> stored at a fixed address in the SD card. The filename does not matter,
>>> and the SPL is not seen as file, but as a raw image.
>>>
>>>> I'm fine
>>>> with the change now, just looking for the full details. Thanks!
>>>
>>> As for Freescale the filename does not matter while for TI does, we can
>>> use for both MLO ;-)
>>
>> Then in that case I would precisely *not* use the same filename, in
>> order to make it clear that Freescale SPL cannot be used in the same
>> way as the TI SPL. Naming it MLO will certainly confuse users having
>> previous experience with TI stuff: it will lead them to believe that
>> creating a FAT filesystem and putting the MLO file in it will be the
>> necessary steps to get this SPL loaded by the ROM code.
>
> Of couse, setting a common name is not a reason enough for the users to
> not read the manual ;-). The way TI and Freescale have chosen to boot
> their SOCs are and remain quite differently.
>
> The reason to have a common name is to avoid to document for each SOC
> which is the binary result. Maybe a more neutral name as "SPL" instead
> of "MLO" ? This is the first attempt to set SPL for a not-TI SOC, but
> hopefully other SOCs will follow, and it is better to set already some
> simple rules,
>
> In any case, the resulting binary is a different thing as how to put the
> binary into the target: SPL can be copied as MLO on the SD-Card. Tom,
> what do you think ?

I think Thomas raises a good point. The important thing is that 'make
fooboard' produces everything to boot the board (when possible). But
at the end of the day, it comes down to the user needs to understand
how to boot their board. The TI MLO file can be dd'ed to an SD card
and booted too, for example.

--
Tom