How to Create a Board Support Package (Windows CE 5.0)

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A board support package (BSP) is software that implements and supports an operating system (OS) on a standard development board (SDB).

With a BSP, you can rapidly bring up an OS on an SDB and evaluate the features of the OS. Using a BSP, OEMs and independent hardware vendors (IHVs) can reduce the time required to develop a Microsoft Windows CE–based device. For more information about BSPs and the elements that make up a BSP, see Board Support Package Overview.

If you do not have an existing BSP and do not want to create a new BSP from the beginning, you can use the BSP Wizard in Microsoft Platform Builder to clone a BSP designed for similar hardware. For more information, see Cloning an Existing BSP.

If you have an existing BSP and want to migrate or update it to be fully compatible with the features in Microsoft Windows CE 5.0, see How to Migrate a Board Support Package to Windows CE 5.0.

To track your progress in the following table, select the check box next to each step.

  Step Topic
1. Develop a boot loader to download the run-time image. How to Develop a Boot Loader
2. Develop an OEM adaptation layer (OAL) to link to the kernel image and initialize and manage your hardware. How to Develop an OEM Adaptation Layer
3. Create device drivers to establish direct communication with devices.

For information about the driver development process, see Developing a Device Driver.

How to Create a Device Driver
4. Modify the run-time image configuration files to reconfigure your BSP.

The modifications you make to the files will depend on previous choices you have made in the BSP creation process, such as your hardware and the location of your directories.

OS Design Configuration Files

See Also

Developing a Board Support Package | Standard Development Board Design | How to Bring Up a Hardware Platform by Creating a New BSP | How to Bring Up a Hardware Platform by Cloning an Existing BSP | How-to Topics

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