diff --git a/doc/README.fdt-overlays b/doc/README.fdt-overlays index ee868ec..39139cb 100644 --- a/doc/README.fdt-overlays +++ b/doc/README.fdt-overlays @@ -1,9 +1,76 @@ -U-Boot FDT Overlay usage (without FIT images) +U-Boot FDT Overlay usage ============================================= -FDT overlays are now available for use even without FIT images. -It is not as automagic as with FIT images though and require a few -manual steps. +Overlays Syntax +--------------- + +Overlays require slightly different syntax compared to traditional overlays. +Please refer to dt-object-internal.txt in the dtc sources for information +regarding the internal format of overlays: +https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/utils/dtc/dtc.git/tree/Documentation/dt-object-internal.txt + +Building Overlays +----------------- + +In a nutshell overlays provides a means to manipulate a symbol a previous dtb +or overlay has defined. It requires both the base and all the overlays +to be compiled with the -@ command line switch so that symbol information is +included. + +Note support for -@ option can only be found in dtc version 1.4.4 or newer. +Only version 4.14 or higher of the Linux kernel includes a built in version +of dtc that meets this requirement. + +Building an overlay follows the same process as building a traditional dtb. + +For example: + +base.dts +-------- + + /dts-v1/; + / { + foo: foonode { + foo-property; + }; + }; + + $ dtc -@ -I dts -O dtb -o base.dtb base.dts + +bar.dts +------- + + /dts-v1/; + /plugin/; + / { + fragment@1 { + target = <&foo>; + __overlay__ { + overlay-1-property; + bar: barnode { + bar-property; + }; + }; + }; + }; + + $ dtc -@ -I dts -O dtb -o bar.dtb bar.dts + +Ways to Utilize Overlays in U-boot +---------------------------------- + +There are two ways to apply overlays in U-boot. +1. Include and define overlays within a FIT image and have overlays + automatically applied. + +2. Manually load and apply overlays + +The remainder of this document will discuss using overlays via the manual +approach. For information on using overlays as part of a FIT image please see: +doc/uImage.FIT/overlay-fdt-boot.txt + +Manually Loading and Applying Overlays +-------------------------------------- 1. Figure out where to place both the base device tree blob and the overlay. Make sure you have enough space to grow the base tree without @@ -29,6 +96,16 @@ overlapping anything. => fdt apply $fdtovaddr +6. Boot system like you would do with a traditional dtb. + +For bootm: + +=> bootm ${kerneladdr} - ${fdtaddr} + +For bootz: + +=> bootz ${kerneladdr} - ${fdtaddr} + Please note that in case of an error, both the base and overlays are going to be invalidated, so keep copies to avoid reloading. diff --git a/doc/uImage.FIT/overlay-fdt-boot.txt b/doc/uImage.FIT/overlay-fdt-boot.txt index dbdf2a1..63e47da 100644 --- a/doc/uImage.FIT/overlay-fdt-boot.txt +++ b/doc/uImage.FIT/overlay-fdt-boot.txt @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ -U-Boot FDT Overlay usage -======================== +U-Boot FDT Overlay FIT usage +============================ Introduction ------------ @@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ of similar boards and their expansion options. The same kernel on DT enabled platforms can support this easily enough by providing a DT blob upon boot that matches the desired configuration. +This document focuses on specifically using overlays as part of a FIT image. +General information regarding overlays including its syntax and building it +can be found in doc/README.fdt-overlays + Configuration without overlays ------------------------------