APT is not installed on a couple of the embedded Linux distributions provided with EZInstaller.
I would like to access some pre-approved binaries for the ARM architecture from sites such as OpenEmbedded.
The alternatives seems to be either build missing components from source, or add them during the Yocto build process.
The types of binaries I desire would include GCC, GDB, QT libraries, QtCreator, the lighttpd web server, Meld, htop, and other binaries to create a native platform development framework for development in C++ and Python.
Python appears to be bundled with a reference embedded Linux OS as Colibri-iMX8X_Reference-Multimedia-Image, but not GCC or GDB or referenced C++/C libraries.
I am hoping to get close with an existing binary and not have to become a Yocto expert.
Hi @bob2oneil
If you are doing a custom Yocto build, you can set up packages in several formats, but there are not generally public package feeds available for you to use. This link should help you do that. That will require doing a full Yocto build and learning more knowledgable about Yocto.
Our Torizon system is intended to be used more like a pre-built OS. Your applications are stored in containers which can be easily based off of a desktop distro container allowing you access to the full package feeds for the chosen distro.
HTH,
Drew
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Drew, thanks for your quick response.
I have some initial understanding of the Portainer/Docker workflow.
For the Qt based demos, that is the Boot2Qt, does this implementation run the application likewise in a Docker container under TorizonCore, or is it more suited to simply one of the embedded Linux distributions?
Can you contrast the Boot2Qt differences to the flagship/mainstream Torizon?
Hi @bob2oneil
I’ve not used boot2qt much myself so I don’t have much to share in the way of comparison. My understanding is that is used as a prebuilt Yocto image allowing you to quickly get up and running with custom QT application development. To my knowledge it does not use containers.
Torizon is intended as a end-to-end system that you can use as a pre-built binary OS, or customize to your needs. The intent is for your applications to be run as docker containers giving you the all the flexibility that Docker offers, and allows you to focus on the app and not have to become a systems developer/Yocto expert. We also have the platform side, which includes over-the-air updates, device and fleet monitoring and more. If you would like to have a call to discuss further, I can put you in touch with your local account rep who can set that up.
Drew
Thanks much Drew for your insight.
I did look at the applications running for the boot2Qt application, and it appears to use an open source Qt launcher coupled with the demo’s QML based content.
What we are struggling to determine is if we attempt to use a lighter weight pure Linux approach, per the Qt example, or go full blown Torizon with the Docker container based implementation. So we are evaluating the pros and cons of both approaches. We have other stake holders than need to develop in Python, and we need certain standard Linux services like lighttpd. We know how to develop and hook all these up using embedded Linux, but there is learning curve towards Portainer/Docker implementations that we need to overcome.
To give you some details, here the applications we are looking to implement in the solution. This list is not entirely comprehensive, but gives you some ideas perhaps of the direction we are headed.
Development Tools for C++/C/Python:
gcc
g++
gdb
python3
pip3
python3 library access
valgrind
make
libc
glibc
stl
Qt bindings for Python
Development libraries:
Qt Support:
qmake
Qt shared libraries (QtCore, QtNetwork)
Platform control:
Remote desktop (xrdp)
SSH Server (open-ssh)
Platform services:
Time synch via ptpd or ntp
SNMP Agent support via snmpd
lighttpd web server