From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Delivery-date: Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:11:36 +0200 Received: from metis.whiteo.stw.pengutronix.de ([2a0a:edc0:2:b01:1d::104]) by lore.white.stw.pengutronix.de with esmtps (TLS1.3) tls TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (Exim 4.96) (envelope-from ) id 1wB9lw-00AcZK-1f for lore@lore.pengutronix.de; Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:11:36 +0200 Received: from bombadil.infradead.org ([2607:7c80:54:3::133]) by metis.whiteo.stw.pengutronix.de with esmtps (TLS1.3:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.92) (envelope-from ) id 1wB9lv-0002s2-Fb for lore@pengutronix.de; Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:11:36 +0200 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; q=dns/txt; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=lists.infradead.org; s=bombadil.20210309; h=Sender:List-Subscribe:List-Help :List-Post:List-Archive:List-Unsubscribe:List-Id:Content-Transfer-Encoding: Content-Type:In-Reply-To:From:References:Cc:To:Subject:MIME-Version:Date: Message-ID:Reply-To:Content-ID:Content-Description:Resent-Date:Resent-From: Resent-Sender:Resent-To:Resent-Cc:Resent-Message-ID:List-Owner; bh=pDHBbYmATv5QXw5O7b75N4JS8GhNIZ+Z1yMFT+bfxuM=; b=gJQiIJD6Z0CiBM888iu2Bw9+of b+wm05Wk6d6qLLmJpx0fjxNtoCzK5ipwToougHOYfqGAChZrcot18GfYIxsVs2y6lGt8TXWv30tZH fOMixId/SRWcgDsfziq64Yzrtwp3run0j+2wxGYmmGcOz4bdQD+dh22YMeBObo6QT6swMSNqM9Xzr 9UEGOofj/TcuPMdtIbPIoM4Ji0viZe4oJiO/KpDduhY5ZrGvqCJN2VtI02qX1b0JEAyHcYUi5qnd6 39DhNby0yXGQs57yXlo2s62nkIvY9M85Dwo7tE1xiXbNjmaFatI4yTsQca6PtmfwI9WwtAmGU12kJ mwD1YJLw==; Received: from localhost ([::1] helo=bombadil.infradead.org) by bombadil.infradead.org with esmtp (Exim 4.98.2 #2 (Red Hat Linux)) id 1wB9lG-0000000C3q8-3T0a; Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:10:54 +0000 Received: from metis.whiteo.stw.pengutronix.de ([2a0a:edc0:2:b01:1d::104]) by bombadil.infradead.org with esmtps (Exim 4.98.2 #2 (Red Hat Linux)) id 1wB9lD-0000000C3pg-0KLa for barebox@lists.infradead.org; Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:10:53 +0000 Received: from ptz.office.stw.pengutronix.de ([2a0a:edc0:0:900:1d::77] helo=[127.0.0.1]) by metis.whiteo.stw.pengutronix.de with esmtp (Exim 4.92) (envelope-from ) id 1wB9lB-0002k2-3D; Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:10:49 +0200 Message-ID: <3b66a66c-bf1f-4248-9e71-8320cbdf2bb4@pengutronix.de> Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:10:48 +0200 MIME-Version: 1.0 User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird To: =?UTF-8?Q?Micha=C5=82_Kruszewski?= Cc: "barebox@lists.infradead.org" , Alexander Shiyan References: <9ae2b9e7-c83d-478e-83b3-9a6f82562259@pengutronix.de> <85359e8c-33a0-46d4-8f3c-df0250af1e9e@pengutronix.de> <01a6de41-3e26-474f-9a90-d69e5d54cfe4@pengutronix.de> <3ncy-rlTwRP1gwmOxD_5J8SJ1F83HGNRqDo6esA_cyWD39ZOYX77Smf4Utanw7Lw94P6owMxtKeH2-Ej3wOti6mFH6dToHXe_Bqrtby0l18=@protonmail.com> From: Ahmad Fatoum Content-Language: en-US, de-DE, de-BE In-Reply-To: <3ncy-rlTwRP1gwmOxD_5J8SJ1F83HGNRqDo6esA_cyWD39ZOYX77Smf4Utanw7Lw94P6owMxtKeH2-Ej3wOti6mFH6dToHXe_Bqrtby0l18=@protonmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-CRM114-Version: 20100106-BlameMichelson ( TRE 0.8.0 (BSD) ) MR-646709E3 X-CRM114-CacheID: sfid-20260410_041051_280760_52F0DBE2 X-CRM114-Status: GOOD ( 48.14 ) X-BeenThere: barebox@lists.infradead.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.34 Precedence: list List-Id: List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Sender: "barebox" X-SA-Exim-Connect-IP: 2607:7c80:54:3::133 X-SA-Exim-Mail-From: barebox-bounces+lore=pengutronix.de@lists.infradead.org X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.2 (2018-09-13) on metis.whiteo.stw.pengutronix.de X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-5.2 required=4.0 tests=AWL,BAYES_00,DKIMWL_WL_HIGH, DKIM_SIGNED,DKIM_VALID,HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_MED,SPF_HELO_NONE,SPF_NONE autolearn=unavailable autolearn_force=no version=3.4.2 Subject: Re: Compiling barebox without PBL and using dts from Linux dts upstream for Zynq SoC X-SA-Exim-Version: 4.2.1 (built Wed, 08 May 2019 21:11:16 +0000) X-SA-Exim-Scanned: Yes (on metis.whiteo.stw.pengutronix.de) Hi, On 4/8/26 7:43 AM, Michał Kruszewski wrote: >> But first can you verify that using images/start_avnet_zedboard.pbl with >> DT replaced as described in a previous message of mine successfully >> boots to shell? > > No, it does not boot to shell. > I have replaced: > > -#include > +/include/ "../../../dts/src/arm/xilinx/zynq-zturn-v5.dts" > > in arch/arm/dts/zynq-zed.dts file. > > Then I used images/start_avnet_zedboard.pbl for boot.bin generation. > I see no barebox output in terminal. Please give this patch a try: https://github.com/a3f/barebox/commit/1dc352b5de6e03429010a23ce6804a3e4c7109e1 The image will be called start_myir_zturn.elf. If this is also completely silent, try changing the zero in ENTRY_FUNCTION_WITHSTACK() to 0x200000. Cheers, Ahmad > > Regards, > Michał Kruszewski > > > Sent with Proton Mail secure email. > > On Tuesday, April 7th, 2026 at 3:22 PM, Ahmad Fatoum wrote: > >> Hello Michał, >> >> I hope you had a please Easter. >> >> On 3/27/26 11:37 AM, Michał Kruszewski wrote: >>> Of course, due to the hurry, I made a mistake in my previous message. >>> The program for the boot.bin generation is called bootgen not bootbin. >>> >>> You can find AMD bootgen user guide here: >>> https://docs.amd.com/r/en-US/ug1283-bootgen-user-guide/Introduction. >>> >>> The ELF file provided to the bootgen can have multiple loadable sections, each of which forms a partition in the boot image. >>> The AMD/Xilinx FSBL will load and hand-off execution to the next executable partition found in the boot.bin file. >>> The u-boot.elf file has one LOAD section: >>> [user@host] readelf -l u-boot.elf >>> Elf file type is EXEC (Executable file) >>> Entry point 0x4000000 >>> There is 1 program header, starting at offset 52 >>> Program Headers: >>> Type Offset VirtAddr PhysAddr FileSiz MemSiz Flg Align >>> LOAD 0x010000 0x04000000 0x04000000 0x108ff0 0x108ff0 RW 0x10000 >>> Section to Segment mapping: >>> Segment Sections... >>> 00 .data >>> The readelf for barebox shows 3 LOAD sections and 1 DYNAMIC section. >> >> This is true for the "barebox" binary, but if you check the >> images/start_avnet_zedboard.pbl, the situation is different. It does >> have multiple sections too, but the initial LOAD section contains >> everything placed linearly. >> >>> The second difference is that Elf file type for u-boot is EXEC (Executable file), for barebox DYN (Position-Independent Executable file). >> >> I suspect that the ELF type doesn't actually matter, but we can >> easily change it should it really be needed. >> >>> The bootgen user guide has the table 49 with the following note for the ELF file format: >>> "Symbols and headers removed." >>> However, it is not clear whether bootgen automatically removes symbosls and headers, or whether it expects the elf file without symbols and headers. >> >> This is easily done with the strip command. >> >>> Now, I would like to describe a few ideas and potential problems. >>> I am by far not bootloaders expert. >>> However, I had to boot and debug booting on a few custom and off-the-shelf boards with AMD/Xilinx SoCs and MPSoCs. >>> All the things I write below are related to booting ADM/Xilinx chips only. >>> >>> >>> There are 2 alternative paths you may chose when trying to boot AMD/Xilinx SoCs. >>> >>> Path 1: The no-FSBL path >>> This is the path currently supported by barebox. >>> You do not want to utilize the AMD/Xilinx automatically generated FSBL. >>> In such a case, you have to define a board, and provide C code for the low-level board initialization. >>> The barebox PBL does the FSBL job in this case. >>> I think this path is fine for hobby projects and off-the-shelf boards when you want to quickly get things running. >>> However, I am not a fan of this path in professional projects because of the following reasons: >>> a) The FSBL code is automatically generated, it may include some workarounds or fixes for hardware bugs. >>> The copied low-level initialization C code may potentially miss them. >> >> If you don't update your FPGA toolchain, you may miss these issues also >> and we have been burnt a lot in the past with FPGA toolchains adding >> subtle breakage all around. >> >>> b) Forget about getting official support from AMD/Xilinx if you mention you don't use the official FSBL for boot. >> >> Yes, if you need FAE support, they may require you to reproduce using >> their bootloader. >> >>> >>> Path 2: The FSBL path >>> For me, this is the way to go in professional projects. >>> Barebox currently does not support this path. >>> In this case, you do not want to be forced to define a board. >>> This is simply pointless, the FSBL is responsible for initializing the low-level stuff. >>> All you need to boot Linux when FSBL stops execution is some SSBL and device tree. >> >> I see your point. >> >>> Now, what a support for path 2 in the barebox could look like. >>> We could use the concept of the virtual board. >>> The virtual board is a board that: >>> - is assumed to already be low-level initialized when barebox starts running, >>> - can accept arbitrary device tree, >>> - should not be bound to any specific device tree by default. >>> The boilerplate related to the board definition should not exist for the virtual board. >> >> Well, the boilerplate will exist, but you wouldn't need to modify it. >> The generic board would be just an extra image produced in the barebox >> build. >> >>> What the user experience would look like: >>> 1. make zynq_virt_defconfig, >>> 2. open menuconfig, >>> 3. find and set config containing path for the device tree file (can be out of tree), >> >> Linux regularly breaks forward and to a lesser degree backwards >> compatibility for device tree. We can make it possible to reference a >> device tree in dts/, but I don't want to make it possible to point an >> arbitrary device tree where it's unclear if the binding are compatible >> with barebox. >> >> If someone wants to inject a device tree, they should copy its source >> into barebox. >> >>> 4. make, >>> 5. copy the required elf and/or bin files to your project. >> >> This is doable, but I'd prefer a new images/barebox-zynq-ssbl.img that's >> just an extra image generated from the normal zynq_virt_defconfig. >> >> >>> >>> The u-boot has a similar concept of virt defconfigs, for example: >>> xilinx_versal_virt_defconfig >>> xilinx_zynqmp_virt_defconfig >>> xilinx_zynq_virt_defconfig >> >> I see. I haven't worked myself with the Zynq, so I was not aware of how >> it's handled in U-Boot. >> >>> What potential problems do I see? >>> The bootgen handles elf files with multiple loadable sections by putting each section into a separate partition. >>> The FSBL simply loads and hands-off to the next executable partition from the boot.bin. >>> I do not know how barebox works and prepares images. >> >> That's not a problem. As mentioned in previous mails, barebox/vmbarebox >> is the wrong image to use however you look at it. You always need an >> image with PBL, even if the PBL only does decompression and passing >> along the DT without any lowlevel HW initialization at all. >> >>> However I can see 3 potential scenarios. >> >> [snip] >> >>> Unfortunately, I do not have enough skills to apply required changes to barebox to test these ideas on my own. >>> However, I would be more than happy to test your changes. >> >> Thanks and I would like to take you up on the offer. >> >> But first can you verify that using images/start_avnet_zedboard.pbl with >> DT replaced as described in a previous message of mine successfully >> boots to shell? >> >> Once we know that the ELF generated is ok in principle I can look into >> implementing a virt/ssbl image >> >>> Let me know what you think. >> >> Cheers, >> Ahmad >> >>> >>> Regards, >>> Michał Kruszewski >>> >> >> -- >> Pengutronix e.K. | | >> Steuerwalder Str. 21 | http://www.pengutronix.de/ | >> 31137 Hildesheim, Germany | Phone: +49-5121-206917-0 | >> Amtsgericht Hildesheim, HRA 2686 | Fax: +49-5121-206917-5555 | >> >> >> > -- Pengutronix e.K. | | Steuerwalder Str. 21 | http://www.pengutronix.de/ | 31137 Hildesheim, Germany | Phone: +49-5121-206917-0 | Amtsgericht Hildesheim, HRA 2686 | Fax: +49-5121-206917-5555 |