CeGCC / MingW32CE Ebuild for Gentoo Linux

It's probably safe to say that there are not many Gentoo Linux users out there who are actively developing WinCE applications. However, today I compiled my first "Hello, WinCE World!" app, messagebox and all, using the compiler from the CeGCC project. CeGCC-0.51.0 is based on fairly recent tools (e.g. gcc-4.1.0), which is a big bonus.

Although seeing a "Hello, World!" dialog in Windows CE surely made my day, the CeGCC compiler is really only a means to get Linux running on  a certain unnameable portable computing device for work. I'm using the HaRET bootloader which has shown promise for many others who have ported Linux to mobile or embedded devices that run WinCE. 

Just in case there are any Gentoo users out there who would also like to install the compiler using Portage, I have included Ebuilds for CeGCC and MingW32CE that install the i686/Linux toolchain components. Just to clarify, for those who are compiling applications for Win32, or people who want to hack HaRET, use the MingW32CE toolchain. For those who are interested in porting GNU software to ARM/Win32, use CeGCC.

You can download the overlay in tarball format here, but I would suggest using layman, just like for my other overlays.

The ultimate goal of my current project is to have an industrial handheld compuer / scanner that runs Android, and so far its been coming along very well.

MaverickCrunch / EABI Toolchain, Kernel, and Sysroot

Hi everyone,

I just announced a somewhat lengthy HowTo with information on building a fully compliant kernel, root filesystem, and toolchain for use with the ep93xx series of SOC's. This is really mainly addressed at Gentoo Linux users due to the build system in place.

GentooWiki:Gentoo_for_the_TS72xx_SBC_(Full_Distro)

The next few steps are getting a package manager working, a commissioning station, and also a database for storing client/host keys.

Maverick-Crunch / EABI support for Crossdev

Since I've been using the TS-7xxx boards from Technologic Systems, I've been wanting to experiment a bit more with the Maverick-Crunch floating point coprocessor in order to squeeze a bit more performance in number-crunching apps.

Here are some simple instructions for creating an armv4tl-maverick-linux-gnueabi toolchain using Gentoo/Portage/Crossdev. These instructions are current as of 26. February 2008.

[ Update: 26. Feb, 2008 ]

The procedure is tested and I have yet to experience any bugs in any normal userspace applications. I know that lame now produces mp3s 25 times faster, and there were no audible errors, which basically confirms with Martin Guy's results that the Maverick FPU is being used.

The only thing that I am lacking is a better stress test - paranoia.c just segfaults, and I'm not really sure why.

I've moved the instructions, as well as instructions for creating an eabi Linux kernel and a full userland, to the Gentoo Wiki.