Simtec ABLE Bootloader

3.5.1. Simple variables
3.5.2. Non volatile variables
3.5.3. Positional variables
3.5.4. Special variables
3.5.5. Accessing variables
3.5.6. Variables with special meanings

4. Setting Options

5. ABLE Console

6. Starting an Operating System Manually

5.5.1. Basic serial debug console
5.5.2. No console at all
5.5.3. Displaying a logo and boot abort

6.6.1. ABLE shell script
6.6.2. ABLE executable
6.6.3. ARM LINUX® zImage
6.6.4. ELF and AOUT files
6.6.5. UNIX® Compress files
6.6.6. Gzip files
6.6.7. Images, text and data files
6.6.8. Motorola S-Record

7. Starting an Operating System Automatically

6.7.1. The "setargs, load and boot" method
6.7.2. The "command line" method

8. Networking

8.1. Finding a network interface
8.2. Configuring a network interface
8.3. Using the network to obtain files

9. Upgrading

9.1. Obtaining Upgrades
9.2. Loading the Upgrade
9.3. Running the upgrade

II. Command Reference

I. Core Commands

autoboot — Attempt to locate and boot suitable images automatically.
console — Controls ABLE console.
date — Show the current real time clock date and time.
devls — Lists information about devices attached to a system
display — Display and image on console.
help — Display help on built in commands
history — Lists the commands in the command line history.
hwinfo — Print hardware information.
man — Manual page display
meminfo — Shows memory information.
modules — List ABLE modules
pmu — Power management control
reset — Reset machine
sbcd — Manipulates the board configuration data.
setdate — Sets the date in the real time clock
setopt — Sets device options.
settime — Sets the real time clock
shadow — Moves ABLE into RAM
showhz — Shows how long a system has been running
sysmsg — Show system messages.
sysspeed — Sets the system clockspeed
tasks — Displays task threads currently running on system.
uname — Print system identification
version — Display ABLE shell version
wrout — Write a string to an output file.

II. Shell Commands

echo — Output some text to standard output
exit — Exit ABLE shell
read — Reads a line of input into shell variables
sh — Start a new ABLE shell
sleep — Delay for a specified amount of time
test — Performs test operations

III. Network operations

ifconfig — Network device configuration and selection
mii — MII phy control

IV. File Navigation

cd — Change present working directory
ls — List files in directory
lsfs — List available filesystems
pwd — Show present working directory

V. File manipulation commands

cat — Displays contents of a text file
cp — Copy a file.
dumpfile — Displays a file in a hexadecimal dump
file — Tests each argument in an attempt to classify it.
sum — Checksum a file

VI. Non-volatile settings

nvclear — Reset non-volatile settings to defaults
nvsave — Save altered non-volatile settings
nvset — Set non-volatile parameters
nvshow — Show non-volatile parameters
nvunset — Clears non-volatile parameter

VII. OS manipulation commands

boot — Starts loaded OS images
load — Load executable images
showargs — Shows arguments to be passed to any booted OS
setargs — Sets arguments to be passed to an OS started with the boot command

VIII. Debugging commands

bast-at — Perform an audio test.
bast-at2 — Perform BAST audio test copies the line in to the line out
bast-hdlcd — Manipulate an HD44780 attached to the EB2410ITX LCD Module port.
dmcfg-rd — Debug command to read Davicom EEPROM
dmcfg-wr — Debug command to write Davicom EEPROM
dump — Displays an area of memory in hex dump
memset — Set range of memory to a specific value.
peek — Examine memory location
pic-rd — Read a value to the PMU PIC
pic-wr — Write a value to the PMU PIC
poke — Poke memory location
tick — Check system timing.
vtp1 — Video test pattern
vtp2 — Video test pattern
vtp3 — Video test pattern
vtp4 — Video test pattern
vtp5 — Video test pattern

III. Non-Volatile Variables Reference

boot.auto — Enable auto boot
boot.cmd — Command line to use for auto boot
boot.timeout — Time to wait before auto boot
boot.fs — The filesystems to be scanned by the autoboot command.
console.write — Default Console output stream
console.read — Default Console input stream
console.level — Console logging level
fb.enable — Framebuffer driver - enable output
fb.output — Framebuffer driver - output target
fb.x — Framebuffer driver - Display X size (width)
fb.y — Framebuffer driver - Display Y size (height)
fb.refresh — Framebuffer driver - Display refresh frequency
ide.multi-limit — IDE multiple sector read limit
shell.hist — Shell history depth
sys.autoshadow — Determines if ABLE will automatically moved into RAM at system start
sys.speed — System speed set at start time
usb.enable — USB system enable
usb.hubdepth — USB system depth hubs should be searched for devices to

IV. Appendices

A. Changelog

Index

ABLE FIS User Guide

ABLE batty user guide

2. Using ABLE FIS

2.1. Main Menu
2.2. Edit Menu

1. Overview
2. Using batty

ABLE User Guide

Simtec Electronics

V R Sanders

B J Dooks

LINUX® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
UNIX® is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
I²C® is a registered trademark of Philips Semiconductors Corporation
All other trademarks are acknowledged.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

2006

Table of Contents

Preface

I. Usage

3. Command Line Interface

2. Getting Started

2.1. Using hyperterm as a serial console
2.2. Using minicom as a serial console

3.5.1. Simple variables
3.5.2. Non volatile variables
3.5.3. Positional variables
3.5.4. Special variables
3.5.5. Accessing variables
3.5.6. Variables with special meanings

4. Setting Options

5. ABLE Console

6. Starting an Operating System Manually

5.5.1. Basic serial debug console
5.5.2. No console at all
5.5.3. Displaying a logo and boot abort

6.6.1. ABLE shell script
6.6.2. ABLE executable
6.6.3. ARM LINUX® zImage
6.6.4. ELF and AOUT files
6.6.5. UNIX® Compress files
6.6.6. Gzip files
6.6.7. Images, text and data files
6.6.8. Motorola S-Record

7. Starting an Operating System Automatically

6.7.1. The "setargs, load and boot" method
6.7.2. The "command line" method

8. Networking

8.1. Finding a network interface
8.2. Configuring a network interface
8.3. Using the network to obtain files

9. Upgrading

9.1. Obtaining Upgrades
9.2. Loading the Upgrade
9.3. Running the upgrade

II. Command Reference

I. Core Commands

autoboot — Attempt to locate and boot suitable images automatically.
console — Controls ABLE console.
date — Show the current real time clock date and time.
devls — Lists information about devices attached to a system
display — Display and image on console.
help — Display help on built in commands
history — Lists the commands in the command line history.
hwinfo — Print hardware information.
man — Manual page display
meminfo — Shows memory information.
modules — List ABLE modules
pmu — Power management control
reset — Reset machine
sbcd — Manipulates the board configuration data.
setdate — Sets the date in the real time clock
setopt — Sets device options.
settime — Sets the real time clock
shadow — Moves ABLE into RAM
showhz — Shows how long a system has been running
sysmsg — Show system messages.
sysspeed — Sets the system clockspeed
tasks — Displays task threads currently running on system.
uname — Print system identification
version — Display ABLE shell version
wrout — Write a string to an output file.

II. Shell Commands

echo — Output some text to standard output
exit — Exit ABLE shell
read — Reads a line of input into shell variables
sh — Start a new ABLE shell
sleep — Delay for a specified amount of time
test — Performs test operations

III. Network operations

ifconfig — Network device configuration and selection
mii — MII phy control

IV. File Navigation

cd — Change present working directory
ls — List files in directory
lsfs — List available filesystems
pwd — Show present working directory

V. File manipulation commands

cat — Displays contents of a text file
cp — Copy a file.
dumpfile — Displays a file in a hexadecimal dump
file — Tests each argument in an attempt to classify it.
sum — Checksum a file

VI. Non-volatile settings

nvclear — Reset non-volatile settings to defaults
nvsave — Save altered non-volatile settings
nvset — Set non-volatile parameters
nvshow — Show non-volatile parameters
nvunset — Clears non-volatile parameter

VII. OS manipulation commands

boot — Starts loaded OS images
load — Load executable images
showargs — Shows arguments to be passed to any booted OS
setargs — Sets arguments to be passed to an OS started with the boot command

VIII. Debugging commands

bast-at — Perform an audio test.
bast-at2 — Perform BAST audio test copies the line in to the line out
bast-hdlcd — Manipulate an HD44780 attached to the EB2410ITX LCD Module port.
dmcfg-rd — Debug command to read Davicom EEPROM
dmcfg-wr — Debug command to write Davicom EEPROM
dump — Displays an area of memory in hex dump
memset — Set range of memory to a specific value.
peek — Examine memory location
pic-rd — Read a value to the PMU PIC
pic-wr — Write a value to the PMU PIC
poke — Poke memory location
tick — Check system timing.
vtp1 — Video test pattern
vtp2 — Video test pattern
vtp3 — Video test pattern
vtp4 — Video test pattern
vtp5 — Video test pattern

III. Non-Volatile Variables Reference

boot.auto — Enable auto boot
boot.cmd — Command line to use for auto boot
boot.timeout — Time to wait before auto boot
boot.fs — The filesystems to be scanned by the autoboot command.
console.write — Default Console output stream
console.read — Default Console input stream
console.level — Console logging level
fb.enable — Framebuffer driver - enable output
fb.output — Framebuffer driver - output target
fb.x — Framebuffer driver - Display X size (width)
fb.y — Framebuffer driver - Display Y size (height)
fb.refresh — Framebuffer driver - Display refresh frequency
ide.multi-limit — IDE multiple sector read limit
shell.hist — Shell history depth
sys.autoshadow — Determines if ABLE will automatically moved into RAM at system start
sys.speed — System speed set at start time
usb.enable — USB system enable
usb.hubdepth — USB system depth hubs should be searched for devices to

IV. Appendices

A. Changelog

Index

List of Figures

2.1. Hyperterm settings window
2.2. Hyperterm displaying ABLE output
2.3. Minicom settings window
6.1. Outline of Motorola S-Record
7.1. Initial boot operations
9.1. EB2410ITX resources page
7. Autoboot command flowchart
8. Video test pattern 1
9. Video test pattern 2
10. Video test pattern 3
11. Video test pattern 4
12. Video test pattern 5

List of Tables

3.1. Special variables
3.2. Variables with special meanings
5.1. Available console drivers
6.1. S-Record loader error codes
5. Commands in alphabetical order
6. Defined console log levels
7. Escaped echo characters
8. Possible test expressions
9. Alphabetical list of non-volatile variables

List of Examples

2.1. Display after starting ABLE on EB2410ITX
3.1. Using the test command and conditional operators
3.2. Using curly braces to disambiguate variables
3.3. Accessing positional parameters
3.4. Navigating a filesystem
3.5. Getting help on the uname command
3.6. Example shell script
4.1. Using the nvshow command to list the default variables
4.2. Using the nvset command
5.1. Using the console command to show available drivers
5.2. Setting serial console driver parameters
5.3. Showing the consoles of an unconfigured system
5.4. Adding console drivers to a running system
5.5. Setup of basic serial console
5.6. Using the null drivers safely
5.7. A method to display logo and boot abort
6.1. Using the ls command to list available sources.
6.2. Using the ls command to list cooked sources
6.3. Using the tftpboot source
6.4. Using the XModem source
6.5. An example S-Record
6.6. Using the "setargs, load and boot" method to start a LINUX® kernel
6.7. Using the "command line" method to start a LINUX® kernel
7.1. Displaying a logo during the automatic boot process
8.1. Executing a program using the tftpboot pseudo filesystem
9.1. The romwrite command requiring the shadow command
9.2. The romwrite command producing warnings
9.3. The romwrite command completing successfully
29. Using the console command
30. Using the date command
31. Using the devls command
32. Using the display command
33. Using the help command
34. Using the history command
35. Using the hwinfo command
36. Using the man command
37. Using the meminfo command
38. Using the modules command
39. Using the setdate command to set the real time clock
40. Using the setopt command to alter serial port options.
41. Using the settime command to set the real time clock
42. Using the showhz command
43. Displaying the system messages after a default boot
44. Using the syspeed command on a EB2410ITX
45. Using the tasks command
46. Using the uname command on the EB2410ITX
47. Using the version command
48. Using the echo command
49. Using the read command
50. Subshell variable scope
51. Using the sleep command to delay execution
52. Performing assorted tests
53. Using the ifconfig command to select default interface
54. Using the ifconfig command to configure a fixed address
55. Using the mii command to show all the registers in a phy
56. Using the cd and ls commands to navigate a filesystem
57. Using the ls command
58. Using the lsfs command
59. Using the pwd command and PWD variable to show the present working directory
60. Using cat command to display files contents
61. Using the dumpfile command
62. Using the file command to determine filetypes
63. Checksumming a file with the sum command
64. Using the nvset command and shell method to alter a non-volatile variables
65. Using the nvshow command
66. Using the boot command
67. Using the showargs command
68. Using the setargs command
69. Using the dump command to examine memory

Preface

About this document. This document describes the Simtec Electronics Advanced Boot Load Environment (ABLE) which provides a flexible environment for both experimentation and integrator solutions.

Intended Audience. This document is aimed at anyone using the ABLE bootloader. The first part is more useful to the beginner but the reference parts allow the book to remain useful to the more experienced user.

Chapter Summary.

Chapter 1, Overview: Gives an outline of what functions ABLE does and does not provide and a brief discussion of possible features.
Chapter 2, Getting Started: Gives an introduction to the facilities of ABLE and methods for interacting with the bootloader.
Chapter 3, Command Line Interface: Gives a comprehensive guide to using the in built command line interface.
Chapter 4, Setting Options: Provides a guide to the use of non volatile ram settings.
Chapter 5, ABLE Console: Shows how ABLE communicates with the user and how that is controlled.
Chapter 6, Starting an Operating System Manually: Shows how Operating systems may be started manually.
Chapter 7, Starting an Operating System Automatically: Shows how the automatic boot process operates.
Chapter 8, Networking: Gives details on how to configure network interfaces from ABLE
Chapter 9, Upgrading: Gives details on how to upgrade the bootloader.
Part II, “Command Reference”: Is a complete reference to all the built in commands within ABLE.
Part III, “Non-Volatile Variables Reference”: Is a complete reference to all the non volatile variables available within ABLE.

Acknowledgements. Several people contributed to the creation of this book in various ways. I would especially like to thank R. Parry and M Gillard for proofreading.

Feedback. Any suggestions, comments or corrections concerning this document are welcomed, please contact Simtec Electronics giving:

The document title

The document revision

A clear explanation of your comments and how they apply

Part I. Usage

Table of Contents

3. Command Line Interface

2. Getting Started

2.1. Using hyperterm as a serial console
2.2. Using minicom as a serial console

3.5.1. Simple variables
3.5.2. Non volatile variables
3.5.3. Positional variables
3.5.4. Special variables
3.5.5. Accessing variables
3.5.6. Variables with special meanings

4. Setting Options

5. ABLE Console

6. Starting an Operating System Manually

5.5.1. Basic serial debug console
5.5.2. No console at all
5.5.3. Displaying a logo and boot abort

6.6.1. ABLE shell script
6.6.2. ABLE executable
6.6.3. ARM LINUX® zImage
6.6.4. ELF and AOUT files
6.6.5. UNIX® Compress files
6.6.6. Gzip files
6.6.7. Images, text and data files
6.6.8. Motorola S-Record

7. Starting an Operating System Automatically

6.7.1. The "setargs, load and boot" method
6.7.2. The "command line" method

8. Networking

8.1. Finding a network interface
8.2. Configuring a network interface
8.3. Using the network to obtain files

9. Upgrading

9.1. Obtaining Upgrades
9.2. Loading the Upgrade
9.3. Running the upgrade

Chapter 1. Overview

The Simtec Electronics Advanced Boot Load Environment (ABLE) is a portable modular boot loader for use in applications where an Operating System (OS) must be retrieved and started. ABLE provides extended functionality providing modules for a command line, video consoles, serial consoles, network booting and numerous other facilities.

ABLE is a powerful tool and provides a flexible environment useful for both the development and deployment of systems. ABLE is a boot loader, not an Operating System, this distinction can sometimes lead to misunderstandings about the capabilities provided by ABLE. A boot loader in this context is a self contained program which retrieves and starts execution of an Operating System it does not execute user programs itself (all the CLI commands are built in) and does not provide services to an Operating System once started (PC BIOS perform this role).

The modular nature of ABLE allows the use of the same building blocks for every supported platform. The integration and omission of various modules allow for specific driver sets depending on the peripherals of a platform. The flexibility of this approach allows for a common familiar environment across all supported platforms while still supporting a complete feature set.

This user guide covers the operation of ABLE from its command line interface (CLI). For details on the programming interface and more advanced topics please see the ABLE Reference manual or contact Simtec Electronics support directly.

ABLE is typically provided in any board directly manufactured by Simtec Electronics. Customer applications which are not manufactured by Simtec Electronics may still use ABLE once a suitable binary distribution licence is obtained.

Chapter 2. Getting Started

Table of Contents

2.1. Using hyperterm as a serial console
2.2. Using minicom as a serial console

When a platform is initially powered or a hard reset performed, the ABLE environment will be started, each component module will be loaded in turn. The last module loaded is the ABLE shell which will present the user with a command line interface.

ABLE has a flexible console system for its input and output which can be configured to meet most requirements. The console system is controlled with console command and the console.read and console.write parameters. Details on using the console system can be found in Chapter 5, ABLE Console

The default console operation is to use all suitable input and output devices available.

On the EB2410ITX both the first serial port and the video display will be used for output and the serial port and USB keyboard for input.

In general use the console is used to interact with the ABLE Command Line Interface. This command line interface is generally assumed for most interactions with ABLE

Example 2.1. Display after starting ABLE on EB2410ITX

This example shows the typical default output shown when ABLE is started.

selected all-wr for console write
selected all-rd for console read
DRAM: 128 Mb (134217728 bytes)
BAST: PMU version 1.02, ID 00:01:3d:00:01:6a
ABLE 2.20 Copyright 2001-2005,2006 Simtec Electronics
hdb: ATAPI CDROM: TOSHIBA CD-ROM XM-7002B PIO mode 4
hdc: FUJITSU MHF2043AT: ATA PIO mode 4
hdc:Diagnosing disc drive: ok
(hdc) 4GB
(hd0) on ((hdc1):ext2)
(hdb) Drive Empty
DM9000: dm0: r1, 00:01:3d:00:01:6a int phy, link ok, 100Mbit full duplex
NE2000: ne0: ISA/Generic, 00:01:3d:00:01:6b
TMP101: not detected
sys.autoshadow unset, automatically shadowing
>

Unless the boot parameters are altered from their default settings the automatic boot process will commence. To manually start an operating system the command line must be used.

2.1. Using hyperterm as a serial console

To access the serial console from windows the Hyperterm program can be used. Identify which serial port the platform is connected to and ensure a note is made of the correct COM port, e.g. COM1 or COM2.

Figure 2.1. Hyperterm settings window

Start HyperTerm and create a new connection. When prompted for which modem to use, instead choose the appropriate COM port, as noted earlier. Then the appropriate settings for your platform (please refer to platform specific documentation) typically these settings are 115200 bits per second, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit and no flow control.

Figure 2.2. Hyperterm displaying ABLE output

Once the connection is established the output from ABLE should be seen in the Hyperterm window

2.2. Using minicom as a serial console

To access the serial console from LINUX® the minicom program can be used. Identify which serial port the EB675001DIP is connected to and ensure a note is made of the correct device node, e.g. something like /dev/ttyS0 or /dev/ttyUSB0.

Figure 2.3. Minicom settings window

Start minicom and ensure the correct settings are selected (Default is Ctrl-A p). These settings are 115200 baud, 8 data bits, no parity and 1 stop bit. Obviously minicom should be using the correct serial port as noted earlier.

Chapter 3. Command Line Interface

Table of Contents

3.5.1. Simple variables
3.5.2. Non volatile variables
3.5.3. Positional variables
3.5.4. Special variables
3.5.5. Accessing variables
3.5.6. Variables with special meanings

The ABLE command line interface (CLI) provides the primary method for interacting with ABLE. The command line is sometimes referred to by the UNIX® naming as a shell. The ABLE shell is a very basic UNIX® bourne shell and should be familiar to anyone experienced with that environment.

The CLI is a flexible environment and commands can be placed in a script file for automation purposes. All the current commands are documented in Part II, “Command Reference”.

3.1. Command line editing

The default prompt is “>”, this can be altered by setting the value of the PS1 shell variable. Commands can be entered at the prompt and executed by pressing return.

If an error is made while typing a command the left and right arrow keys can be used to position the cursor and insert or delete characters.

Once a command has been executed it may be recalled by using the up arrow, indeed several commands are stored in the command history to a depth determined by the shell.hist parameter. By using the up and down arrow keys the desired line in the history may be selected. The command may then optionally be edited and then executed by pressing return.

Depending on the terminal in use some standard control characters can be used, for example Control U to clear a line.

3.2. Simple commands

The shell processes commands as a series of tokens separated by unquoted space, tab, ||, && and ; characters. The first token specifies the command to be executed and is passed as the first argument, all the remaining tokens are passed as parameters to the command.

Each command exits with a status, this status is represented by a number between 0 and 255. A command which exits with a status of 0 has succeeded any other value is taken to indicate a failure.

The shell itself will return the status of the last command it executed or the value specified if using the exit command.

3.3. Conditional execution

Multiple commands can be placed on a single line each command separated with a conditional operator which controls execution of subsequent commands

Commands may be separated with one of three conditional operators:

The first ; is not really a conditional, each command will be executed despite the exit code of the previous command.
The second && will only execute the next command if the previous one exited with a non zero exit code.
The third || will only execute the second command if the first command exits with a zero exit code.

With these constructs simple conditional decision processes can be built.

The test command can be used to test logical expressions and combined with the conditional operators make decisions based upon a variety of tests.

Example 3.1. Using the test command and conditional operators

This example shows how to use the test command to perform some simple textural and numeric comparisons. The full range of comparisons available can be found in Table 8, “Possible test expressions”

>[ 1 -lt 2 ] && echo "1 < 2"
1 < 2
>[ 2 -lt 1 ] && echo "2 < 1"
>[ 1 -gt 2 ] && echo "1 > 2"
>[ 2 -gt 1 ] && echo "2 > 1"
2 > 1
>[ "text" = "text" ] && echo "true"
true
>[ "text" != "text" ] || echo "true"
true
>[ "text" == "foo" ] && echo "true" || echo "false"
false
>[ "text" != "foo" ] && echo "true" || echo "false"
true
>foo="bar" ; [ -z ${foo} ] && echo "true" ||echo  "false"
false
>foo="" ; [ -z ${foo} ] && echo "true" ||echo  "false"
true
>

3.4. Quoting

Some characters and words have special meanings to the shell. The quoting process is used to remove these special properties.

There are three ways to quote special values

The escape character (\)
Single quotation marks (')
Double quotation marks (")

The escape character, a backslash \, causes the shell to ignore the special properties of the following character.

Single quotes around characters stop any special meanings. Strings escaped with single quotes may not contain a single quote because the escape character has no effect within single quotes.

Double quotes preserve all characters within them except $, ' and \. The escape character only works for a limited number of characters within double quotes, these are $, ', " and \.

3.5. Shell variables

3.5.1. Simple variables
3.5.2. Non volatile variables
3.5.3. Positional variables
3.5.4. Special variables
3.5.5. Accessing variables
3.5.6. Variables with special meanings

3.5.1. Simple variables

The ABLE shell supports simple variables, these variables are in the form:

name= [value]

where the name must start with a letter of the alphabet (upper or lower case) or an underscore (_) and continue with letters of the alphabet, numbers or an underscore (_). The value may contain any arbitrary numeric or textural value and when omitted is a null (empty) string. The value may need to be quoted in order to get a correct assignment.

3.5.2. Non volatile variables

The non-volatile variables are also accessible from within the shell. The variable form is identical to that of simple variables with one exception, the body of the variable name will contain a full stop (.).

The value is interpreted in the same way as if passed to the nvset command. Options that take boolean values can be set with “on” and “off” (“true” or “false” and “0” or “1” may also be used). Other options typically take free form text, as with simple variables the value may need to be quoted to get a correct assignment.

Any changes to the non-volatile variables will not be made permanent until a nvsave command is issued. Chapter 4, Setting Options contains details on using the non-volatile settings.

3.5.3. Positional variables

The positional parameters are similar to the simple variables except the variable name is a positive integer number. Each parameter is set from the arguments to the shell or script when it was started.

The single digit 0 has special meaning and is set to the name of the shell or script.

Positional parameters cannot be assigned with the normal assignment operator and are read only.

When the tenth or later positional parameters are referenced they must be disambiguated using curly braces this is shown fully in Example 3.3, “Accessing positional parameters”

3.5.4. Special variables

In addition to simple variables there are a small number of “special” variables which do not match the syntax for simple variable names. These typically access specific information within the shell and are read only.

Table 3.1. Special variables

Variable name	Value
?	Exit status of last command
-	Shell parameters
*	All the positional parameters separated by the first character of the `IFS` variable.
#	The number of positional parameters.

3.5.5. Accessing variables

Variables are accessed within the shell by using the dollar symbol followed by the variable name $name. The variable name my also be surrounded by curly braces ${name}.

The curly brace form is less ambiguous because if the braces are omitted the shell may not be able to distinguish between a variable name and the text surrounding it. The curly brace form is unambiguous as the variable name is clearly delimited.

Example 3.2. Using curly braces to disambiguate variables

This example shows a variable myvariable being set and then displayed using the two forms showing the ambiguity problem.

>myvariable=hello 
>echo foo $myvariable bar 
foo hello bar 
>echo foo$myvariablebar 
foo 
>echo foo${myvariable}bar 
foohellobar 
>

Special care must be taken of positional parameters, the simple version with no braces is limited to the nine single digits 1-9 to access the the later positional parameters curly braces must be used.

Example 3.3. Accessing positional parameters

This example shows accessing the first positional parameter, then the first positional parameter when the tenth was meant and finally accessing the tenth parameter correctly.

>echo $1
one
>echo $10
one0
>echo ${10}
ten
>

3.5.6. Variables with special meanings

There are a small number of shell variables which have special meaning to the shell environment itself. These variables generally affect some aspect of the shell environment. Several of these variables have defaults which are assigned by the shell upon initialisation.

Table 3.2. Variables with special meanings

Variable	Meaning
`PS1`	This variable contains the text of the prompt to use, which allows users to alter their prompt or scripts to use the same prompt as the shell. This value is set to > by default.
`PS4`	This variable is the forth level prompt, it is used when the -x switch is in operation to preface output lines. This value is set to + by default.
`PWD`	This variable is the present working directory within the filesystem. Consult Section 3.6, “Filesystem navigation” for more details. This value is set to `/` by default.
`OLDPWD`	The previous working directory. Consult Section 3.6, “Filesystem navigation” for more details.
`IFS`	The Internal Field Separator that is used for word splitting after expansion and to split lines into words with the read command. This value is set to “space tab newline” by default.

3.6. Filesystem navigation

ABLE has the ability to fully navigate detected filesystems. The File Navigation commands may be used to move around and list the entries within any filesystem which supports directory enumeration (currently only the tftpboot pseudo filesystem does not). It should be noted that only devices with a valid filesystem recognised and supported by ABLE can be navigated in this way.

ABLE presents all available filesystems and devices in a hierarchical structure. The root of this filesystem is a virtual representation of all the available devices. The devices are either direct representations of devices or aliases which show the detected filesystems on devices.

At initial boot time the Present Working Directory (PWD) is set to / which represents the root of the filesystems. The PWD is changed with the cd command and displayed with the pwd command. The ls command without any parameters lists the PWD. With a parameter it lists the specified directory. The lsfs command is exactly the same as using ls /.

Example 3.4. Navigating a filesystem

>pwd
/
>ls
(hd1) (aliases to hdc2)
(hd0) (aliases to (hdc1):ext2)
(nvram0) (aliases to 24cxx)
(flash1) (aliases to (nand0p2):jffs2)
(flash0) (aliases to nand0p1)
>cd (hd0)
>ls
lost+found
var
etc
usr
bin
boot
dev
home
lib
mnt
proc
root
sbin
tmp
sys
srv
opt
floppy
cdrom
media
initrd
vmlinuz
>cd boot
>ls -l
-rw-r--r--    1 0 0   376034 System.map-2.4.25-bast
-rw-r--r--    1 0 0    28687 config-2.4.25-bast
-rw-r--r--    1 0 0  1016944 vmlinuz-2.4.25-bast
-rw-r--r--    1 0 0       45 patches-2.4.25-bast
-rwxr-xr-x    1 0 0  1484512 vmlinuz-2.6.11-bast
-rw-r--r--    1 0 0   533056 System.map-2.6.11-bast
>

3.7. ABLE help system

The ABLE command line has a useful help system available, the help command gives a list of all known commands, some commands have a --help parameter which is another way to obtain the help text.

Example 3.5. Getting help on the uname command

>help
Internal commands are:
sh           autoboot     sbcd         bast-hdlcd   pic-wr       pic-rd
bast-at2     bast-at      dmcfg-rd     dmcfg-wr     pmu          shadow
mii          ifconfig     [            test         console      display
file         hwinfo       wrout        version      nvclear      nvunset
nvsave       nvshow       nvset        uname        sum          tasks
sleep        showhz       sysmsg       setopt       showargs     setargs
reset        memset       meminfo      peek         poke         modules
ls           lsfs         help         echo         dumpfile     dump
cat          cp           cd           pwd          boot         load
history      sysspeed     settime      setdate      devls        date
Use:
  help <command> to get brief explanation
  <command> --help for command usage (if available)
>help uname
Help on uname:
Usage: uname [OPTION]...
Print system information.  No OPTION is the same as -s.

  -a, --all              all information in the order:
  -s, --kernel-name      kernel name
  -n, --nodename         network node hostname
  -r, --kernel-release   kernel release
  -v, --kernel-version   kernel version
  -m, --machine          machine hardware name
  -o, --operating-system operating system
      --help             display this help and exit
      --version          display version and exit

Please report bugs to <support@simtec.co.uk>
>uname --help
Usage: uname [OPTION]...
Print system information.  No OPTION is the same as -s.

  -a, --all              all information in the order:
  -s, --kernel-name      kernel name
  -n, --nodename         network node hostname
  -r, --kernel-release   kernel release
  -v, --kernel-version   kernel version
  -m, --machine          machine hardware name
  -o, --operating-system operating system
      --help             display this help and exit
      --version          display version and exit

Please report bugs to <support@simtec.co.uk>
>uname -a
ABLE unknown 2.20 #1 Tue Feb 14 12:06:59 GMT 2006 s3c2410x ABLE
>

3.8. Shell script

ABLE has the ability to execute shell scripts. These are simple text files with commands in them. The shell commands in the file are executed in consecutive order as if they had been typed at the command line.

To be recognised, a script file must start with a line #!sh or #!/bin/sh. After this, commands may be placed on each line as desired. Lines starting with a “#” are interpreted as comments and are ignored.

Example 3.6. Example shell script

This is an example shell script which tests the test command and shell quoting.

#!/bin/sh
# ABLE shell test
echo "TEST: test"
[ 1 -lt 2 ] && echo "1 < 2"
[ 2 -lt 1 ] && echo "2 < 1"
[ 2 -gt 1 ] && echo "2 > 1"
[ 1 -gt 2 ] && echo "1 > 2"
echo "TEST: simple variable expansion"
foo=bar
echo $foo
echo "TEST: variable expansion within test"
bar=10
[ 1 -lt $bar ] && echo "1 < $bar"
[ 1 -gt $bar ] && echo "1 > $bar"
echo $bar
echo "TEST: quoting tests"
echo TEST: single quotes
echo '\\ \$ \w $bar $+ $foo \$foo'
echo TEST: double quotes
echo "\\ \$ \w $bar $+ $foo \$foo"
echo TEST: no quotes
echo \\ \$ \w $bar $+ $foo \$foo
echo TEST: quoted single var
echo "$foo$foo"
echo TEST: quoted curly brace single var
echo "${foo}${foo}"
echo TEST: positional parameters
echo There are $# positional parameters
echo All parameters  ">$*< after"
echo Parameter 0,1,2 ">$0 $1 $2<"
echo Parameter 0:$0
echo Parameter 1:$1
echo Parameter 2:$2
echo Parameter 3:$3

When executed, the above script should produce the following output.

>(tftpboot)test.sh one two three
readudp: incorrect length
TEST: test
1 < 2
2 > 1
TEST: simple variable expansion
bar
TEST: variable expansion within test
1 < 10
10
TEST: quoting tests
TEST: single quotes
\\ \$ \w $bar $+ $foo \$foo
TEST: double quotes
\ $ \w 10 $+ bar $foo
TEST: no quotes
\ $ w 10 $+ bar $foo
TEST: quoted single var
barbar
TEST: quoted curly brace single var
barbar
TEST: positional parameters
There are 4 positional parameters
All parameters >one two three< after
Parameter 0,1,2 >(tftpboot)test.sh one two<
Parameter 0:(tftpboot)test.sh
Parameter 1:one
Parameter 2:two
Parameter 3:three
>

Chapter 4. Setting Options

ABLE has the ability to store settings in non volatile memory. Currently all supported boards have this feature.

The commands for manipulating the non volatile memory are:

nvshow

nvset

nvsave

nvclear

These commands are used to manipulate a set of variables which remain after reset or power cycle and are hence referred to as non-volatile. The variables are numbers, strings or boolean values. The nvshow command can be used without arguments in order to list the current values of all variables.

Example 4.1. Using the nvshow command to list the default variables

>nvshow
shell.hist (is unset)
boot.fs (is unset)
boot.auto  = off
boot.cmd (is unset)
boot.timeout (is unset)
ide.multi-limit (is unset)
usb.hubdepth (is unset)
usb.enable (is unset)
console.level  = 9
console.write (is unset)
console.read (is unset)
fb.enable (is unset)
fb.output (is unset)
fb.refresh (is unset)
fb.y (is unset)
fb.x (is unset)
sys.autoshadow (is unset)
sys.speed (is unset)
>

The variables, their meanings and default values are shown in Part III, “Non-Volatile Variables Reference”.

The nvset command is used to change the values of the variables its syntax is

nvset {variable} {value}

Where the variable is one of those shown in Part III, “Non-Volatile Variables Reference” and the value is correct for the variables type.

Example 4.2. Using the nvset command

This example shows the setting of three variables, one of each type, and their effects on the variables as shown by nvshow. It should be noted that to set string values with spaces in them the values must be quoted appropriately.

>nvshow
boot-cmd =
boot-time =
shell-hist = 0
auto-boot = off
auto-shadow = off
cons-write =
cons-read =
>nvset boot-cmd "boot (hd0)/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1"
>nvset boot-time 1
>nvset auto-boot on
>nvshow
boot-cmd = boot (hd0)/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1
boot-time = 1
shell-hist = 0
auto-boot = on
auto-shadow = off
cons-write =
cons-read =
>

Values altered with the nvset command are not permanent until the nvsave command has been issued. The nvsave command commits the current changes to the non volatile storage, without this the changes will be lost upon a system reset.

The nvclear command can be used to restore the values back to the defaults. The nvsave should not be used to attempt to save these values, this would result in the current settings state being saved not the default values.

Chapter 5. ABLE Console

Table of Contents

5.5.1. Basic serial debug console
5.5.2. No console at all
5.5.3. Displaying a logo and boot abort

ABLE generally has to communicate with the end user, it does this by using any of the connected devices for which it has drivers.

5.1. Console drivers

Console drivers are categorised as either input and output sources. The sources for the console can be found using the console command.

Example 5.1. Using the console command to show available drivers

This shows the available drivers and if they can be used for read, write or both.

>console -d
(-w-a)  s3c2410x-video
(r---)  usbkbd
(rw--)  multi
(rw--)  null
(-w--)  all-wr
(r---)  all-rd
(rw--)  serial
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial0)
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial1)
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial2)
(rw--)  (u16550_serial0)
(rw--)  (u16550_serial1)
>

These drivers allow access to the peripherals on a system. They can be used to provide input from a user to ABLE and output from ABLE to the user. Any number of them may be used simultaneously, it is possible (though not practical) to have ABLE appear on every serial port and video console attached to a system.

Table 5.1. Available console drivers

Driver	Description
s3c2410x-video	Video display driver for the s3c2410 internal controller.
sm501-video	Video display driver for the Silicon motion 501 controller.
usbkbd	Reads input from any HID USB keyboard attached to the system.
ps2kbd	Reads input from any PS2 keyboard attached to the system
null	The null driver is a special driver which swallows all output sent to it and never produces any output.
multi	The multi driver is a pseudo driver which allows for multiple console sources, it should never be directly used.
all-wr	The “all write” driver is the default output driver if no other is specified. This driver sets the output to be all the available output devices. However it only selects the basic `serial` driver not any of the other possible serial targets, this is to limit ABLE to a sensible number of peripherals (on some boards there might be more than ten serial ports which will probably be connected to peripherals which would not respond well to the ABLE console)
all-rd	The “all read” driver is the read equivalent to the `all-wr` driver. This driver selects all the available input sources, again only selecting the basic `serial` driver.
serial	This driver is a read/write capable driver which is connected to what is historically considered the “console” serial port. This is typically the first serial port. On the EB2410ITX, for instance, it is the first internal port of the s3c2410, on the EB110ATX it is the footbridge debug port and on the EB675001DIP it is the main 16550 based port. The port will have the settings of 115200 baud, eight data bits, no parity and a single stop bit.
(s3c2410_serial`X`)	The serial ports on the s3c2410 are presented as a series of three devices. These devices may have their settings (baud rate, parity etc.) altered as required at initialisation time or later with the setopt command.
(u16550_serial`X`)	A given system may have several standard 16550 based serial ports each will have an entry. As with all serial devices (except the `serial` driver) in ABLE the port settings may be altered as required at initialisation time or later with the setopt command.

5.2. Setting parameters on serial drivers

The serial port drivers (s3c2410_serial and u16550_serial) can be given parameters when they are initialised. This is achieved by placing additional comma separated parameters after the driver name within the containing brackets.

The configuration format is in one of the forms:

(driverX)
(driverX,baud)
(driverX,baud,data-format)

Options may be omitted. Such options are either left as the current settings or set to defaults as necessary. The default settings, when the ports are first initialised, is 115200 baud, eight data bits, no parity and a single stop bit (115200,8n1)

The data format is specified as three single character values. The first denotes the number of data bits, typically eight or seven. The second sets the parity type one of none (n), odd (o) or even (e). The third is the number of stop bits either one or two.

Example 5.2. Setting serial console driver parameters

To use the s3c2410_serial driver first port at 19200 baud using the default data format

(s3c2410_serial0,19200)

To use the s3c2410_serial driver second port at 38400 baud, 8 data bits, no parity and a single stop bit

(s3c2410_serial1,38400,8n1)

To use the u16550_serial driver first port with the current baud rate, 8 data bits, no parity and a single stop bit

(u16550_serial0,,8n1)

5.3. Configuring the console system

At boot, the console output is sent to all the devices listed in console.write. The list is a comma separated set of driver names (the serial devices must be bracketed and may contain additional parameters). Likewise for the console input using the console.read non volatile variable. When these variables are not set they default to all-wr and all-rd respectively.

The current active drivers may be displayed with:

console -l

The output of this command is split into two sections for the write(console output) and read(console input).

Example 5.3. Showing the consoles of an unconfigured system

>nvshow console.write
console.write (is unset)
>nvshow console.read
console.read (is unset)
>console -l
Console (write):
all write:
 => s3c2410x-video: S3C24XX Framebuffer (640x480 @ 60Hz, 31.5 KHz)
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial

Console (read):
all read:
 => usbkbd: USB Keyboard Driver
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial

>

Once a system is running it is sometimes useful to add an additional driver. Adding a driver allows access to ABLE on that new device. This can be especially useful in scripts which can add displays based upon shell decisions. Section 5.5, “Practical use of the console system” contains more examples on using this feature.

Example 5.4. Adding console drivers to a running system

This example shows the adding of the second s3c2410 serial port, once added the serial port can be used to interact with ABLE

>console -l
Console (write):
all write:
 => s3c2410x-video: S3C24XX Framebuffer (640x480 @ 60Hz, 31.5 KHz)
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial

Console (read):
all read:
 => usbkbd: USB Keyboard Driver
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial

>console -a (s3c2410_serial1)
adding console (s3c2410_serial1)
>console -l
Console (write):
all write:
 => (s3c2410_serial1): fd (s3c2410_serial1)
 => s3c2410x-video: S3C24XX Framebuffer (640x480 @ 60Hz, 31.5 KHz)
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial

Console (read):
all read:
 => (s3c2410_serial1): fd (s3c2410_serial1)
 => usbkbd: USB Keyboard Driver
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial

>

5.4. Setting the logging level

The ABLE console output is split into levels of importance. Only messages with a level lower than the current logging level are displayed.

The logging level is set at boot time by the console.level variable, if unset the value defaults to 6. All messages of any priority can be viewed with the sysmsg command after boot.

Warning

Setting this value to 0 will result in no output being displayed from ABLE unless a critical error occurs. However the console input will still function correctly. The console level can be dropped by using

console -s 6

This will allow what is being typed to be seen once more.

5.5. Practical use of the console system

5.5.1. Basic serial debug console
5.5.2. No console at all
5.5.3. Displaying a logo and boot abort

The practical applications of the console system may not be immediately apparent. The flexibility of the system allows for configurations in deployed solutions which meet the needs to the developer.

The following sections outline a few use cases from which a developer should be able to construct many functionalities. Some of these make use of the scripting capabilities which are described in Chapter 3, Command Line Interface.

Warning

It is possible to configure the console settings so no input or output can be made to the console! In this case the non volatile ignore jumper on the board should be used to recover the unit. This will cause the default “all” drivers to be used.

5.5.1. Basic serial debug console

In this scenario the requirement is to get a serial console on the first 16550 based serial port only. It should be configured to 9600 baud, eight data bits , no parity and a single stop bits.

This is achieved trivially by setting console.read and console.write to

(u16550_serial0,9600,8n1)

Example 5.5. Setup of basic serial console

>nvshow console.write
console.write (is unset)
>nvshow console.read
console.read (is unset)
>nvset console.write (u16550_serial0,9600,8n1)
>nvshow console.write
console.write  = (u16550_serial0,9600,8n1)
>nvset console.read (u16550_serial0,9600,8n1)
>nvshow console.read
console.read  = (u16550_serial0,9600,8n1)
>nvsave
verifying written data...
>

5.5.2. No console at all

In this scenario no console output whatsoever is required. Generally this is only useful when a project has reached final production and a fixed OS image is being retrieved from reliable storage.

This is straightforward to achieve by using the “null” driver. Set the console.read and console.write variables to:

null

Be sure to set the boot.cmd and other boot variables to correctly boot your OS before setting this or you will need to recover the system with the physical non volatile ignore jumper.

As a precaution against loosing the console completely you can add a

console -a serial

to the end of the boot.cmd variable.

Example 5.6. Using the null drivers safely

This example shows how the addition of the console command can recover from a situation where otherwise the physical jumper would have to be accessed.

>nvset boot.cmd "(hd0)/nosuchkernel ; console -a serial"
>nvset boot.auto on
>nvset console.write null
>nvset console.read null
>nvsave
verifying written data...
>reset
Autoboot attempt 2, Press any key to abort
Autobooting in   6
>

Even using this technique it is easy to get a system into an unbootable state, because of this setting the consoles to null is generally inadvisable if another approach can be found.

5.5.3. Displaying a logo and boot abort

This scenario the console is required if user input is given at a specific point in the boot sequence after a boot logo is displayed.

This is a slightly more complex situation and the developer may decide to place this in a shell script rather than try and cram it all into a single boot.cmd line. The general solution is:

Set the console logging level to 0 to inhibit any other ABLE output
Use the display command to plot the image
Use the echo command to display the user message
Use the read command to wait for user input with a two second timeout
If the user input is the correct key to abort the boot process set a variable to indicate this
If the abort variable is unset start the OS
Set the console log level to something reasonable and start a shell

Example 5.7. A method to display logo and boot abort

#!sh
display -d s3c2410x-video (tftpboot)logo.bmp.Z
echo -n "press c to enter ABLE"
ABORT=no
read -t 2 -n 1 -s RES && [ $RES = "c" ] && ABORT=yes 
[ $ABORT = "no" ] && (hd0)kernel root=/dev/hdc1 console=ttySAC0,115200
console -s 6
sh -i

This script would be stored somewhere accessible to ABLE(flash, hard disc or network) and boot.cmd set to that location. Once verified, consoles could be configured as required and console.level set to 0.

Chapter 6. Starting an Operating System Manually

Table of Contents

6.6.1. ABLE shell script
6.6.2. ABLE executable
6.6.3. ARM LINUX® zImage
6.6.4. ELF and AOUT files
6.6.5. UNIX® Compress files
6.6.6. Gzip files
6.6.7. Images, text and data files
6.6.8. Motorola S-Record

III. Network operations

6.7.1. The "setargs, load and boot" method
6.7.2. The "command line" method

ABLE is a powerful tool but its ultimate aim is simply to obtain the operating system image and start its execution with the appropriate parameters. This chapter shows how to use ABLE to achieve this aim using the Command Line Interface.

6.1. Data sources

To obtain the operating system image, ABLE can retrieve data from a number of sources. A source may be a “block” device where data can be random accessed in discrete chunks or a “stream” device where data can be accessed serially. ABLE insulates the user from these details and provides a unified interface.

Any device, for which ABLE has a driver, can act as a source. Devices that ABLE can create sources from include ATA hard drives, ATAPI cdroms, memory devices, USB devices and network interfaces.

ABLE identifies a sources by placing the source name in brackets. Sources can be found from the ABLE command line by using the ls command on the “root” directory.

Example 6.1. Using the ls command to list available sources.

The ls when performed on the “root” directory, with the -a option, shows all available sources.

>ls -a -l /
drwxr-xr-x 1 0 0        0 .
drwxr-xr-x 1 0 0        0 ..
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 nor0
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 hdc1
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 hdc
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 tftpboot
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 xmodem
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 console
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 char4
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 char3
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 char2
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 char1
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 char0
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 24cxx0p1
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 24cxx0
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 nand0p2
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 nand0p1
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 nand0
brw-rw-rw- 1 0 0   0,   0 s3c2410x
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0       11 hd0 -> (hdc1):ext2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0        5 s3c2410_serial2 -> char4
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0        5 s3c2410_serial1 -> char3
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0        5 s3c2410_serial0 -> char2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0        5 u16550_serial1 -> char1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0        5 u16550_serial0 -> char0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0        8 nvram0 -> 24cxx0p1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0       15 flash1 -> (nand0p2):jffs2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0        7 flash0 -> nand0p1
>

The sources listed as links are “aliases” which build upon or “cook” the behaviour of other sources.

6.2. Alias sources

The previous section described how to identify a possible data source within ABLE. Typically these data sources are a raw unprocessed set of data, to be useful a data source is generally partitioned and has a filing system placed upon it. The process of building upon a raw data source is sometimes referred to as “cooking” which gives a cooked data source.

To make the users interaction with ABLE easier a set of alias sources are automatically generated. Each of these aliases may be referred to as a source in its own right. The ls command can be used to list these aliases.

Example 6.2. Using the ls command to list cooked sources

The ls command performed on the root directory.

>ls -l /
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0       11 hd0 -> (hdc1):ext2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0        8 nvram0 -> 24cxx0p1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0       15 flash1 -> (nand0p2):jffs2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0        7 flash0 -> nand0p1
>

ABLE detects and creates a cooked source for every raw source that can provide files. Each of the raw sources will be examined for recognised filesystems and, if a partitioned device, each partition will be scanned. ABLE can interpret several filesystems, these include EXT2, FFS, ISO9660 (including rockridge extensions) and FAT. Filesystems are only scanned for on suitable sources i.e. ISO9660 filesystems would only be searched for on cdrom sources.

The user need not use the aliases and may specify the full source descriptor if desired. The sources “(hd0)” and “((hdc1):ext2)” from the previous examples are completely equivalent. The full construct may be used to attempt to force ABLE to interpret filesystems where it has not automatically detected one but this will almost certainly result in unexpected and incorrect behaviour.

6.3. Network sources

The network is treated differently to other sources. It is accessed through a source which defines the access protocol. Currently the only supported access protocol is TFTP. The tftpboot source uses the currently configured network interface which is set with ifconfig. Chapter 8, Networking describes the configuring and setup of network interfaces in more detail.

The tftpboot source cannot be enumerated, that is a list of files cannot be obtained with the ls command, the filename to be retrieved must be already known. To use the filename provided by the DHCP server the tftpboot source can be used without a file specified.

Example 6.3. Using the tftpboot source

This example shows that the tftpboot source is unable to enumerate the contents of the source, using the tftpboot source with an explicit filename and using the server provided filename when its present and when not set.

>ls -l (tftpboot)
-r--r--r--    0 0 0       -1 (tftpboot)
>sum (tftpboot)batty
18014 33 (tftpboot)batty
>sum (tftpboot)
tftpboot: using bootp filename 'batty'
18014 33 (tftpboot)
>sum (tftpboot)
tftpboot: using bootp filename ''
warning: filename is null, tftp may fail
Error loading (tftpboot) :No such file or directory
>

6.4. XModem source

The XModem source is treated differently to other sources. It provides a way to obtain files over a serial connection using the XModem protocol. The implementation of the XModem protocol within ABLE accepts 128byte or 1Kbyte packets and checksum or CRC16 checks.

The filename used with the XModem source is the serial port source on which to perform the transfer, these can be identified as aliases for char sources within a full source listing (see Example 6.1, “Using the ls command to list available sources.”). The parameters for a serial driver source are more fully described in Section 5.2, “Setting parameters on serial drivers”.

If the transfer is performed on the same source as is being used for the console care must be taken not to use commands which produce output during their reading of the file. Because of this the sum command may be used in its non verbose mode but would cause the transfer to fail if the -v option is used because it would output . characters to denote progress. Similarly the dumpfile and cat commands would cause a failure. Obviously this is not an issue if the transfer source is not used as a source for the console.

Example 6.4. Using the XModem source

This example shows a file being checksummed from the first S3C2410 serial port source. The C characters are the XModem receive characters signifying the start of the XModem sequence. The same file is then checksummed using the network interface to show the correctness of the transfer.

>sum (xmodem)s3c2410_serial0
CCCCCC
39872 33 (xmodem)s3c2410_serial0
>sum (tftpboot)batty
39872 33 (tftpboot)batty
>

6.5. Navigating a filesystem

Sources with filesystems that support enumeration (EXT2, ISO9660 etc.) can be browsed and navigated. A filesystem arranges information as files within directories. The file navigation commands (see File Navigation) can be used to change the present working directory (PWD) and enumerate (list) the contents of directories.

A filesystem is presented as a hierarchical tree of directories which contain files and more directories. ABLE presents directories in the UNIX® manner and includes the . and .. directories which represent the current directory and the parent directory respectively. Any file or directory name prefixed by a . is considered “hidden” and will not be listed with the ls command unless the -a option is used.

ABLE starts with the PWD set to the root directory /. As already seen in Example 6.1, “Using the ls command to list available sources.” this directory contains all available sources, by default only the alias sources are listed, the raw sources being “hidden”.

The cd command is used to change the PWD. The ls command with no parameters lists the available files in the PWD.

Once a file is located the file manipulation commands can be used (see File manipulation commands) to examine or verify the file. The file command is especially useful for determining if ABLE can identify a file as an operating system image.

ABLE uses a set of heuristics to determine a files contents. The methods used include “magic” numbers (sequences of well known values at fixed offsets in the file) and common executable binary format headers. The overall approach is similar to the UNIX® file command which is provided with the ABLE shell built-in file command.

Once a files contents are identified ABLE will use the appropriate module to load and execute the file. If a unrecognised filetype or one for which no loader module is present, ABLE will report the error and return to the command line.

6.6.1. ABLE shell script

This file type is identified by the string “#!sh” in the first four bytes of the file. Such files are executed with the ABLE shell as detailed in Section 3.8, “Shell script”.

6.6.2. ABLE executable

This file type is identified by the hexadecimal value AB1E0001 at the beginning of the executable file. This filetype is used for ABLE binary program extensions for code which it is not desirable to ship within ABLE because of space or licencing constraints. Examples of such programs are the romwrite reflash tool and batty test tool.

6.6.3. ARM LINUX® zImage

This file type is identified by the hexadecimal value 016F2818 thirty six bytes into the file. This file type is used for compressed LINUX® kernel images.

When a file of this type is executed ABLE sets up an appropriate parameter list and starts execution of the kernel image. Full details of the ARM LINUX® booting procedure can be found in the Booting ARM Linux document.

6.6.4. ELF and AOUT files

The ELF and AOUT binary file detection is provided for NetBSD and OpenBSD operation. The ELF header is detected from the hexadecimal value 464C457F at the beginning of the file and the various AOUT formats with several differing magic numbers (The AOUT types supported are the old “impure” format, the read-only text format, the “compact” demand load format and the demand load format.

When a file of this type is executed the relevant sections are loaded and relocated as described by their binary headers. The code is entered at its entry point with the MMU running and the parameters and command line passed as expected by the BSD kernel.

Although the LINUX® kernel can be extracted as an ELF object ABLE is unlikely to execute the image correctly, the zImage format should be used.

6.6.5. UNIX® Compress files

UNIX® compress files are identified by their first two bytes which contain 0x9D and 0x1F. These files when loaded (to be executed) are decompressed and the result file typed again.

6.6.6. Gzip files

Gzip files are identified by their header of 0x8B1F at the beginning of the file. These files when loaded (to be executed) are decompressed and the result file typed again.

6.6.7. Images, text and data files

These files are identified by various methods but all share the common property that they cannot be executed. These files must be manipulated with other commands such as the display command for images, the cat command for text and the dumpfile for data.

6.6.8. Motorola S-Record

Files of this type are identified by their format which must be correct for the first few lines of the file. When loaded the whole file must be of the correct format.

The recognised S-Record format is well defined. Each file consists of a series of lines. Each line begins with an S character and is terminated by a newline. Each line represents an individual record, its type is determined by the second character on the line (0 to 9) followed by a record length, type dependant data and finally a checksum. All data after the type field is presented as 8 bit octets coded as two hexadecimal values e.g. the value 255 is presented as the text FF.

Figure 6.1. Outline of Motorola S-Record

The checksum is calculated as a ones complement of the data octets including the length.

The header record is typically the first record in the file, ABLE does not interpret this record beyond printing the data section as ASCII output on the console. Any number of headers may be included as they have no impact on the decoding of the other lines.

Header record

The four byte (32 bit) addressed data record may be repeated as often as required to load all the program into memory. The four byte address gives access to the entire 4GB memory region of the ARM memory map. The address is specified as a physical location.

Four byte addressed data

The four byte (32 bit) address end record is used to specify the address that execution will start from. The address is specified as a physical location. This record should only occur once at the end of the data.

Four byte addressed data end.

During the parsing of an S-Record it is possible a syntax error in the input data may occur. If this happens an error report will be reported in the form:

error 1 on line 1

Table 6.1. S-Record loader error codes

Code	Error
1	Line didn't start with S
2	Line finished before type
3	Type was not 0-9
4	Line finished before length
5	Length field contained invalid characters
6	Line finished early in data
7	Data contained invalid characters
8	Checksum failed

Where the errors refer to invalid characters this means characters other than 0-9 and A-E were found in the line.

Example 6.5. An example S-Record

The S0 record starts the file. The S3 records contain the data. The S7 record contains the entry address and completes the file load.

S0030000FC
.
.
S325000004403C0880018D08DD900000000011000026000000003C0880012508DC50C50000B401
S32500000460C50100B8C50200BCC50300C0C50400C4C50500C8C50600CCC50700D0C50800D4FA
S32500000480C50900D8C50A00DCC50B00E0C50C00E4C50D00E8C50E00ECC50F00F0C51000F49A
S325000004A0C51100F8C51200FCC5130100C5140104C5150108C516010CC5170110C518011434
.
.
S70500000000FA

6.7. Starting an Operating System

6.7.1. The "setargs, load and boot" method
6.7.2. The "command line" method

Once a complete file path to an operating system image has been decided upon the boot process is simple. ABLE may be used to start a recognised operating system in two ways.

The two methods for starting an operating system are the “setargs, load and boot” method or the “command line” method. As can be seen from Example 6.6, “Using the "setargs, load and boot" method to start a LINUX® kernel” and Example 6.7, “Using the "command line" method to start a LINUX® kernel” both these methods produce exactly the same result and the kernel is passed exactly the same parameters in both cases.

The “command line” method is preferred as it is simpler and more obvious but there are some limited circumstances where it is not sufficient (multiple boot files) and the “setargs, load and boot” is necessary.

6.7.1. The "setargs, load and boot" method

The "setargs, load and boot" method as its description suggests uses a three stage method in order to start an operating system:

The setargs command is used to set the arguments with which to call the OS.
The load command with the path to the OS kernel or image to load.
The boot command to start the loaded image with the specified parameters.

This method gives the most flexibility and control but is cumbersome to use.

Example 6.6. Using the "setargs, load and boot" method to start a LINUX® kernel

>setargs "root=/dev/hda1 console=ttySAC0,115200"
>load (hd0)vmlinuz
loaded (hd0)vmlinuz, 0x16a6e0 bytes at 0x00008000
>boot
boot: booting 'linux'
Booting Linux
Uncompressing Linux.............................................................
Linux version 2.6.11 (vince@gerald)
CPU: ARM920Tid(wb) [41129200] revision 0 (ARMv4T)
CPU0: D VIVT write-back cache
CPU0: I cache: 16384 bytes, associativity 64, 32 byte lines, 8 sets
CPU0: D cache: 16384 bytes, associativity 64, 32 byte lines, 8 sets
Machine: Simtec-BAST
Memory policy: ECC disabled, Data cache writeback
CPU S3C2410A (id 0x32410002)
S3C2410: core 266.000 MHz, memory 133.000 MHz, peripheral 66.500 MHz
S3C2410 Clocks, (c) 2004 Simtec Electronics
USB Power Control, (c) 2004 Simtec Electronics
Built 1 zonelists
Kernel command line: root=/dev/hda1 console=ttySAC0,115200
...

A user wishing to use the this method in the boot.cmd setting should make use of the “;” to separate the commands. To set the command from the above example would be

nvset boot.cmd "setargs root=/dev/hda1 console=ttySAC0,115200";  \
load (hd0)vmlinuz ; boot"

6.7.2. The "command line" method

The "command line" method is a less flexible but much simpler and obvious method of starting an OS kernel or image. The image to be executed is simply given on the command line followed by its parameters, exactly like running any other command.

Note

Any parameters set with the setargs command are not considered when using this method.

Example 6.7. Using the "command line" method to start a LINUX® kernel

>(hd0)vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 console=ttySAC0,115200
loaded (hd0)vmlinuz, 0x16a6e0 bytes at 0x00008000
boot: booting 'linux'
Booting Linux
Uncompressing Linux.............................................................
Linux version 2.6.11 (vince@gerald) 
CPU: ARM920Tid(wb) [41129200] revision 0 (ARMv4T)
CPU0: D VIVT write-back cache
CPU0: I cache: 16384 bytes, associativity 64, 32 byte lines, 8 sets
CPU0: D cache: 16384 bytes, associativity 64, 32 byte lines, 8 sets
Machine: Simtec-BAST
Memory policy: ECC disabled, Data cache writeback
CPU S3C2410A (id 0x32410002)
S3C2410: core 266.000 MHz, memory 133.000 MHz, peripheral 66.500 MHz
S3C2410 Clocks, (c) 2004 Simtec Electronics
USB Power Control, (c) 2004 Simtec Electronics
Built 1 zonelists
Kernel command line: root=/dev/hda1 console=ttySAC0,115200
...

Chapter 7. Starting an Operating System Automatically

ABLE has a flexible system to automatically run a given user command at boot time. The command to be run is controlled by the boot.cmd non volatile variable. If the boot command is not set it defaults to the autoboot command.

The execution of the boot process may be prevented by setting the boot.auto variable to true. If the boot.auto variable is not set or set to false the boot command is run after a delay set by the boot.timeout variable. The delay is in seconds and allows the user to abort the boot process by pressing a key. The console input from which the keypress is accepted is described in detail in Chapter 5, ABLE Console.

The boot command is executed by the ABLE shell. Any shell script command may be placed in the boot.cmd seperated by semicolons. If more than a small number of commands need to be issued they should be placed in a shell script and the script executed.

Example 7.1. Displaying a logo during the automatic boot process

This example shows how the boot.cmd can be set to display a logo on the video console before continuing with an automated boot using the autoboot command.

>nvset boot.cmd "display -d s3c2410x-video (tftpboot)logo.bmp.Z ; autoboot"
>nvshow boot.cmd
boot.cmd  = display -d s3c2410x-video (tftpboot)logo.bmp.Z ; autoboot
>nvset boot.auto true
>nvshow boot.auto
boot.auto  = on
>nvset boot.timeout 1
>nvshow boot.timeout
boot.timeout  = 1
>nvset console.level 5
>nvsave
>reset
No Available Targets
>

Some of the examples presented in Section 5.5, “Practical use of the console system” make user of the automatic boot process and may be of interest.

Figure 7.1, “Initial boot operations” shows the logic of the initial start process. The operation is to loop for keyboard input for the time specified in boot.timeout. If no user input is received before the timeout the boot.cmd variable is inspected, if set the command is executed with the ABLE shell otherwise the autoboot command is executed by default.

Figure 7.1. Initial boot operations

Flowchart for the initial boot operations.

Chapter 8. Networking

Table of Contents

8.1. Finding a network interface
8.2. Configuring a network interface
8.3. Using the network to obtain files

ABLE has basic networking facilities allowing it to transfer data using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) running over Internet Protocol (IP).

ABLE has drivers for a common set of Ethernet adaptors encompasing those found on Simtec Electronics boards and common PCI cards. The supported cards include those based upon Davicom DM9000 chipset, Tulip chipset, Realtek chipset and the traditional NE2000 based devices. ABLE does not currently have support for serial based protocols such as Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) or Point to Point Protocol (PPP) but there is provision for XModem protocol (see Section 6.4, “XModem source”)

IP network settings can set maunually or be retrieved from the network from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) or Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) server.

To transfer files ABLE uses the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) protocol. TFTP is a very simple protocol it lacks the ability to list directory contents, has no authentication or encryption mechanisms and performs its transfers in lock-step with only one packet on the network at any time which reduces its performance. Despite its lack of facilitys it is sufficient for retreving files.

8.1. Finding a network interface

ABLE will create an interface for every supported device it can find. All IP capable interfaces available on a platform can be listed with the ifconfig command.

>ifconfig -a
dm0       Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:01:3d:00:01:6a
          inet addr:0.0.0.0  Mask:0.255.255.255
          gateway addr:0.0.0.0  tftpserver:0.0.0.0
          UP MTU:1500  Metric:1

ne0       Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:01:3d:00:01:6b
          inet addr:0.0.0.0  Mask:0.0.0.0
          gateway addr:0.0.0.0  tftpserver:0.0.0.0
          MTU:1500  Metric:1

>

In this case two interfaces are available dm0 and ne0. Some platforms may have more than one of the same type of interface which will be presented as dm0, dm1, dm2 etc.

8.2. Configuring a network interface

Once the required interface is identified it can be configured for use. This is achieved using the up option to the ifconfig command. This is only required if the required interface does not already have the UP flag, in the above case the dm0 interface is marked such because the first interface is marked up by default.

If the DHCP protocol is used no futher configuration is required and the settings will be recovered the first time the interface is accessed.

If an automatic server is unavailable or cannot be used for other reasons manual configuration is neccisary. Applying IP settings manually requires an IP address and netmask and an optional default gateway. Although not an IP setting the address of the TFTP server is specified too. The ifconfig command is used to set the desired values.

Full details on setting fixed addresses and other aspects of configuring interfaces can be found in the ifconfig command documentation.

8.3. Using the network to obtain files

Once the interface settings are configured files may be retrieved from the network using the TFTP protocol. Files are accessed with the (tftpboot) source. If no filename is given the one provided by the DHCP server will be used, if the DHCP server doesn't provide a filename one based upon the hardware unique ID is used (the hwinfo command can be used to find the unique ID).

Most of the operations described here are not usually required if a properly configured DHCP and TFTP servers are used. Any file that can be accessed using TFTP can be used wherever a filename is used within ABLE, no distinction between network and local files is explicitly made (the one exception being that filesystem stat calls cannot be sensibly answered via TFTP).

The ability to use the network in this way allows for a very rapid compile, execute and test cycle. No physical media is involved and mistakes can be rectified and retested in a short time.

Example 8.1. Executing a program using the tftpboot pseudo filesystem

This example shows the batty board test tool being retrieved over the network using a default DHCP configuration.

>(tftpboot)batty
tftp: attempting bootp
bootp: sending request
bootp: serverip: 192.168.7.1
bootp: netmask: 255.255.255.0
bootp: serverip: 192.168.7.1
bootp: netmask: 255.255.255.0
bootp: address: 192.168.7.222
.....loaded (tftpboot)batty, 0x8040 bytes at 0x00008000
boot: booting 'able app1'
Simtec Board Test Tool, Version 0.10
(c) 2005 Simtec Electronics

EB2410ITX (BAST) Test Suite

Testing S3C24XX CPU Core
 CPU ID 32410002, OK [S3C2410A]
 Testing internal SRAM block
  Pattern: all ones
  Pattern: all zeros
  Pattern: alternate zero/ones (LSB set)
  Pattern: alternate zero/ones (LSB unset)
  Writing address to each location

 Testing system RAM [0x00400000..0x07d00000]
  Pattern: all ones
  Pattern: all zeros
  Pattern: alternate zero/ones (LSB set)
  Pattern: alternate zero/ones (LSB unset)
  Writing address to each location

 Checking ABLE CRC
  CRC OK

 Searching for ABLE info
  Version 208
  Release 2005041001
  Supported machine number 3
  Supported machine number 6

Testing CPLD registers
 CPLD ID register (value 00) OK


DONE: 13 tests, 13 ok, 0 failed, 0 warnings
PASSED: all tests OK
>

Chapter 9. Upgrading

Table of Contents

9.1. Obtaining Upgrades
9.2. Loading the Upgrade
9.3. Running the upgrade

ABLE is usually stored in non-volatile memory. It may be upgraded either by running the romwrite ABLE executable or by reprogramming the non-volatile storage directly e.g. by use of an EEPROM programmer.

It is generally recommended that users only upgrade if they are suffering a specific issue with a prior version or require an added feature. Every effort is made to ensure errors are not introduced in updates but Simtec Electronics offer no warranty.

9.1. Obtaining Upgrades

Simtec Electronics generally provide ABLE upgrades as a romwrite package which combines both the programming utility and the upgrade in a single binary image.

Upgrades to the latest version can be obtained for each supported product on the Simtec Electronics website from the resource pages.

Figure 9.1. EB2410ITX resources page

EB2410ITX resources webpage open at the firmware section

A version of ABLE which is up-to-date at the time of shipping is provided on the boards support CD. It is always recommended that the latest update be obtained from the website in preference to the CD version.

9.2. Loading the Upgrade

The upgrade can be retrieved from any available boot device. Some examples for a EB2410ITX are:

cdrom - (cd0)eb2410itx-romwrite-v220.bin

tftp - (tftpboot)eb2410itx-romwrite-v220.bin

hard disc - (hd0)eb2410itx-romwrite-v220.bin

ABLE can navigate several types of filesystem Section 6.5, “Navigating a filesystem” has more details on how to locate files. Upgrades, because of their transient nature, are typically retrieved from the network using TFTP Chapter 8, Networking details configuring and using network interfaces.

ABLE may need to be moved to execute from memory on some platforms such as the EB7500ATX. This is achieved with the shadow command. If the shadow operation is not performed, then romwrite will prompt the user to issue the shadow command.

Example 9.1. The romwrite command requiring the shadow command

>(tftpboot)eb2410itx-romwrite-v174.bin
.............................boot: booting 'able app1'
ROM Write: Version 1.00
(c) 2002, 2003 Simtec Electronics

cannot run without ABLE shadowed.
use the 'shadow' command and then re-run this application
>

9.3. Running the upgrade

The romwrite command also performs several checks to ensure the update is suitable. These include downgrading and checking the machine type matches the image.

Warning

Overriding any warnings may result in an inoperable system, so be sure you understand any warnings before continuing with the upgrade.

Example 9.2. The romwrite command producing warnings

>(tftpboot)eb110atx-romwrite-v173.bin
............................boot: booting 'able app1'
ROM Write: Version 1.00
(c) 2002, 2003 Simtec Electronics

Replacing current version 174 with image version 173
warning: Image version 173 is lower than running version 174
Image release number is 2003062801
warning: Image release 2003062801 is lower than running release 2003071701
warning: machine 3 is not supported by image
Warnings detected, proceed with upgrade (yes to continue) ? no
Upgraded cancelled by user input
>

The romwrite command may fail at the “Erasing Device” stage if the system supports physical non-volatile storage protection. This feature is currently present on all Simtec Electronics boards except the EB110ATX

A successful flash operation will result in a message asking the user to reset the platform. Until the system is reset, the old version of ABLE is still running.

Example 9.3. The romwrite command completing successfully

>shadow
shadowing ABLE into main memory
>(tftpboot)able.bast
............................boot: booting 'able app1'
ROM Write: Version 1.00
(c) 2002, 2003 Simtec Electronics

Replacing current version 174 with image version 220
Image release number is 2003091701
Machine is BAST
Flash: SST 39LF160 [0x00BF, 0x2782]
Initialising programmer:
Erasing device: done
Writing data: ............. done
Verifying data: ......................... done
Finishing operation:  done
Done! - Please Reset machine
>

Part II. Command Reference

The sections in Part II split the commands available into groupings by type.

Each command is documented in the standard UNIX® manual page layout. The page is separated into several parts:

Name: The name of the command and its purpose.
Synopsis: Command synopsis which may illustrate several invocations.
Options: This part is only present if the command has arguments. The command arguments are listed together with a description.
Description: Describes the detailed use of the command.
See also: This optional section gives references to other commands which may be relevant.

Conventions used in this part:

command text.
{arguments} within { } are required.
replaceable text for arguments.
[arguments] within [ ] are optional.
argument | argument separated by | cannot be used together.
argument... is repeatable
[expression]... entire expression is repeatable.

Table 5. Commands in alphabetical order

Command	Purpose
autoboot	Attempt to locate and boot suitable images automatically.
boot	Starts loaded OS images
bast-hdlcd	Manipulate an HD44780 attached to the EB2410ITX LCD Module port.
bast-at	Perform an audio test.
bast-at2	Perform BAST audio test copies the line in to the line out
cat	Displays contents of a text file
cd	Change present working directory
console	Controls ABLE console.
cp	Copy a file.
date	Show the current real time clock date and time.
devls	Lists information about devices attached to a system
display	Display and image on console.
dmcfg-rd	Debug command to read Davicom EEPROM
dmcfg-wr	Debug command to write Davicom EEPROM
dump	Displays an area of memory in hex dump
dumpfile	Displays a file in hex dump
echo	Output some text to standard output
exit	Exit ABLE shell
file	Tests each argument in an attempt to classify it.
help	Display help on built in commands
history	Lists the commands in the command line history.
hwinfo	Print hardware information.
ifconfig	Network device configuration and selection
load	Load executable images
ls	List files in directory
lsfs	List available filesystems
man	Manual page display
mii	MII phy control
meminfo	Shows memory information.
memset	Set range of memory to a specific value.
modules	List ABLE modules
nvclear	Reset non-volatile settings to defaults
nvset	Set non-volatile parameters
nvsave	Save altered non-volatile settings
nvshow	Show non-volatile parameters
nvunset	Clears non-volatile parameter
peek	Examine a memory location
pic-rd	Read a value to the PMU PIC
pic-wr	Write a value to the PMU PIC
pmu	Power management control
poke	Poke memory location
pwd	Show present working directory
read	Reads a line of input into shell variables
reset	Reset machine
sbcd(1)	Manipulates the board configuration data.
setargs	Sets arguments to be passed to an OS started with the boot command
setdate	Sets the date in the real time clock
setopt	Sets device options.
settime	Sets the real time clock
sh	Start a new ABLE shell
showargs	Shows arguments to be passed to any booted OS
shadow	Moves ABLE into RAM
showhz	Shows how long a system has been running
sleep	Delay for a specified amount of time
sum	Checksum a file
sysmsg	Show system messages.
sysspeed	Sets the system clock speed
tasks	Displays tasks running on system.
test	Performs test operations
tick	check system timing.
uname	Print system identification
version	Display ABLE shell version
vtp1	Video test pattern
vtp2	Video test pattern
vtp3	Video test pattern
vtp4	Video test pattern
vtp5	Video test pattern
wrout	Write a string to an output file.

Table of Contents

I. Core Commands

autoboot — Attempt to locate and boot suitable images automatically.
console — Controls ABLE console.
date — Show the current real time clock date and time.
devls — Lists information about devices attached to a system
display — Display and image on console.
help — Display help on built in commands
history — Lists the commands in the command line history.
hwinfo — Print hardware information.
man — Manual page display
meminfo — Shows memory information.
modules — List ABLE modules
pmu — Power management control
reset — Reset machine
sbcd — Manipulates the board configuration data.
setdate — Sets the date in the real time clock
setopt — Sets device options.
settime — Sets the real time clock
shadow — Moves ABLE into RAM
showhz — Shows how long a system has been running
sysmsg — Show system messages.
sysspeed — Sets the system clockspeed
tasks — Displays task threads currently running on system.
uname — Print system identification
version — Display ABLE shell version
wrout — Write a string to an output file.

II. Shell Commands

echo — Output some text to standard output
exit — Exit ABLE shell
read — Reads a line of input into shell variables
sh — Start a new ABLE shell
sleep — Delay for a specified amount of time
test — Performs test operations

ifconfig — Network device configuration and selection
mii — MII phy control

IV. File Navigation

cd — Change present working directory
ls — List files in directory
lsfs — List available filesystems
pwd — Show present working directory

V. File manipulation commands

cat — Displays contents of a text file
cp — Copy a file.
dumpfile — Displays a file in a hexadecimal dump
file — Tests each argument in an attempt to classify it.
sum — Checksum a file

VI. Non-volatile settings

nvclear — Reset non-volatile settings to defaults
nvsave — Save altered non-volatile settings
nvset — Set non-volatile parameters
nvshow — Show non-volatile parameters
nvunset — Clears non-volatile parameter

VII. OS manipulation commands

boot — Starts loaded OS images
load — Load executable images
showargs — Shows arguments to be passed to any booted OS
setargs — Sets arguments to be passed to an OS started with the boot command

VIII. Debugging commands

bast-at — Perform an audio test.
bast-at2 — Perform BAST audio test copies the line in to the line out
bast-hdlcd — Manipulate an HD44780 attached to the EB2410ITX LCD Module port.
dmcfg-rd — Debug command to read Davicom EEPROM
dmcfg-wr — Debug command to write Davicom EEPROM
dump — Displays an area of memory in hex dump
memset — Set range of memory to a specific value.
peek — Examine memory location
pic-rd — Read a value to the PMU PIC
pic-wr — Write a value to the PMU PIC
poke — Poke memory location
tick — Check system timing.
vtp1 — Video test pattern
vtp2 — Video test pattern
vtp3 — Video test pattern
vtp4 — Video test pattern
vtp5 — Video test pattern

Core Commands

These are the core commands available from the shell command line of ABLE from version 2.20 and later.

Table of Contents

autoboot — Attempt to locate and boot suitable images automatically.
console — Controls ABLE console.
date — Show the current real time clock date and time.
devls — Lists information about devices attached to a system
display — Display and image on console.
help — Display help on built in commands
history — Lists the commands in the command line history.
hwinfo — Print hardware information.
man — Manual page display
meminfo — Shows memory information.
modules — List ABLE modules
pmu — Power management control
reset — Reset machine
sbcd — Manipulates the board configuration data.
setdate — Sets the date in the real time clock
setopt — Sets device options.
settime — Sets the real time clock
shadow — Moves ABLE into RAM
showhz — Shows how long a system has been running
sysmsg — Show system messages.
sysspeed — Sets the system clockspeed
tasks — Displays task threads currently running on system.
uname — Print system identification
version — Display ABLE shell version
wrout — Write a string to an output file.

Name

autoboot — Attempt to locate and boot suitable images automatically.

Synopsis

autoboot

Description

This command may be executed from the Command Line Interface however it is usually executed as part of the autoboot sequence as explained in Chapter 7, Starting an Operating System Automatically.

This command takes each filesystem in turn from the boot.fs variable and searches it for bootable images. As each possible image is located a suitable set of parameters are derived (if possible) and the image and the commands are added to a list.

Once all the filesystems have been checked the list is displayed and a countdown commenced starting with the boot.timeout value. If a user selects on of the entries they are then prompted to alter the guessed parameters and asked if they wish to make the resulting command line the boot.cmd entry. If the user does not interact with the command before the countdown completes the first entry on the list is attempted, if that fails the second is tried and so on down the list until all entries have been attempted.

Figure 7. Autoboot command flowchart

Flowchart of the autoboot command

Name

console — Controls ABLE console.

Synopsis

console [-a, --add {driver}] [-d, --drivers] [-s, --level [level]] [-l, --list] [-h, --help]

Options

-a, --add: adds a new console driver to those currently active.
-d, --drivers: shows all available display drivers which can be used with the -a switch.
-s, --level: sets the logging level to new value (if given) and displays the current logging level.
-l, --list: lists the currently active consoles.
-h, --help: displays the short help text and exits.

Description

This command is used to manipulate the ABLE console system. At boot, the active console is determined by the console.read and console.write values. The console command allows the current active console sources to be altered while the system is running.

The console command allows the level of messages displayed (“logged”) on the console to be altered.

Any messages with a level lower than the current log level will be output to the console. For example, if the logging level is set to 6 all messages except those of level Log and Debug will be shown.

The initial log level is controlled by console.level and defaults to 6 if the variable is unset.

Table 6. Defined console log levels

Level	Value	Description
Critical	0	Critical errors that will prevent proper continued operation of ABLE
Error	1	Error messages
Warn	3	Warning messages
Info	5	Messages which give more information about an operation
Log	7	Messages which are the result of normal operation
Debug	9	Debugging messages, these will rarely be seen on non debugging releases of ABLE.

Example 29. Using the console command

This example shows the use of the console command and its switches. First all the available drivers are listed, then the current log level is displayed and changed. Finally the active drivers are listed, a new driver added and listed again to show the addition was successful.

>console -d
(-w-a)  s3c2410x-video
(r---)  usbkbd
(rw--)  null
(-w--)  all-wr
(r---)  all-rd
(rw--)  serial
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial2)
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial1)
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial0)
>console -s
Current console level 6
>console -s 4
Changing log level 6 to 4
>console -l
Console (write):
all write:
 => s3c2410x-video: S3C24XX Framebuffer (640x480 @ 60Hz, 31.5 KHz)
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial
Console (read):
all read:
 => usbkbd: USB Keyboard Driver
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial
>console -a (s3c2410_serial1)
adding console (s3c2410_serial1)
>console -l
Console (write):
all write:
 => (s3c2410_serial1): fd (s3c2410_serial1)
 => s3c2410x-video: S3C24XX Framebuffer (640x480 @ 60Hz, 31.5 KHz)
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial
Console (read):
all read:
 => (s3c2410_serial1): fd (s3c2410_serial1)
 => usbkbd: USB Keyboard Driver
 => null: NULL
 => serial: low level serial
>

Name

date — Show the current real time clock date and time.

Synopsis

date

Description

Show the current real time clock date and time. The settime and setdate commands can be used to set the real time clock and date.

Example 30. Using the date command

This example shows the use of the date command to get the current date and time, the date and time being kept across a reset and finally used to show a delay.

>date
Fri Mar 10 01:38:00 2006
>date
Fri Mar 10 01:38:08 2006
>reset
selected all-wr for console write
selected all-rd for console read
DRAM: 128 Mb (134217728 bytes)
BAST: PMU version 1.02, ID 00:01:3d:00:01:6a
ABLE 2.20 Copyright 2001-2005,2006 Simtec Electronics
hdb: ATAPI CDROM: TOSHIBA CD-ROM XM-7002B PIO mode 4
hdc: FUJITSU MHF2043AT: ATA PIO mode 4
hdc:Diagnosing disc drive: ok
(hdc) 4GB
(hdb) Drive Empty
DM9000: dm0: r1, 00:01:3d:00:01:6a int phy, link ok, 100Mbit full duplex
NE2000: ne0: ISA/Generic, 00:01:3d:00:01:6b
ne0: PHY 0180:bb10, state 7869, LPA 45e1,0007
ne0: starting PHY reset (260)
TMP101: not detected
sys.autoshadow unset, automatically shadowing
>date
Fri Mar 10 01:38:24 2006
>date; sleep 22; date
Fri Mar 10 01:38:44 2006
Fri Mar 10 01:39:06 2006
>

Name

devls — Lists information about devices attached to a system

Synopsis

devls [-v] [-h]

Options

-v: be more verbose in output
-h: display help message

Description

This command can be used to obtain a complete list of the devices attached to the system.

Example 31. Using the devls command

This shows the use of a simple devls command on the EB2410ITX. The output shows a list of all devices within the system and information on those devices where known.

>devls
bus: usb on
bus: IIC on
  [03000002,03000002]
  [03000002,03000001]
  [03000004,03000001]
  [03000000,0300000a]
  [03000003,03007fff]
  [03000003,03007006]
bus: bast on memory 00000000..80000000
  [03000000,03000006] Samsung S3C2410, 1 IO regions
  [03000009,03000001] Samsung S3C2410 OHCI, 1 IO regions
  [03000000,0300000d] Samsung UART, 1 IO regions
  [03000000,0300000d] Samsung UART, 1 IO regions
  [03000000,0300000d] Samsung UART, 1 IO regions
  [03000000,03000001] bast-ide1, 2 IO regions
  [03000000,03000001] bast-ide2, 2 IO regions
  [03000000,03000008] asix-ax88796, 1 IO regions
  [03000001,03009000] dm9000, 1 IO regions
  [03000000,03000000] superio-serial1, 1 IO regions
  [03000000,03000000] superio-serial2, 1 IO regions
  [03000000,03000005] rombank0, 1 IO regions
>

This shows the devls command used in verbose mode on a PCI system.

>devls -v
bus: isa on 7c000000..7c010000
  [010013ea,01010000] [ 0x0072 ] ds1687
  [03000000,03000000] [ 0x03f8 ] 16550
  [03000000,03000000] [ 0x02f8 ] 16550
  [03000000,03000004] [ 0x0060 ] intel8042
bus: pci on dc21285
  [010010b9,01001533] [ 0. 7.0 ] 10b9:1533 Rev 0xc3  Class 6.1.0
   CmdStatus 3200000f:
        CMD: IO MEM MASTER SPECIAL
     Status: DEVSEL-MED MT-ABRT M-ABRT

  [01001011,01000019] [ 0. 8.0 ] 1011:0019 Rev 0x41  Class 2.0.0
   CmdStatus 02800007:
        CMD: IO MEM MASTER
     Status: B2B DEVSEL-MED
        Region 0: IO f880, size 0080
        Region 1: MEM 32bit at 0x05000000, size 0x00000400

  [010010ea,01005000] [ 0.10.0 ] 10ea:5000 Rev 0x01  Class 3.0.0
   CmdStatus 02000007:
        CMD: IO MEM MASTER
     Status: DEVSEL-MED
        Region 0: MEM 32bit at 0x06000000, size 0x01000000

  [010010ea,01005050] [ 0.10.1 ] 10ea:5050 Rev 0x01  Class 4.1.0
   CmdStatus 02000007:
        CMD: IO MEM MASTER
     Status: DEVSEL-MED
        Region 0: MEM 32bit at 0x07010000, size 0x00001000
        Region 1: IO f000, size 0100

  [010010b9,01005229] [ 0.16.0 ] 10b9:5229 Rev 0xc1  Class 1.1.250
   CmdStatus 02800005:
        CMD: IO MASTER
     Status: B2B DEVSEL-MED
        Region 4: IO ecf0, size 0010

   ->  [03000000,03000001]
   ->  [03000000,03000001]
  [010010b9,01007101] [ 0.17.0 ] 10b9:7101 Rev 0x00  Class 6.128.0
   CmdStatus 02800001:
        CMD: IO
     Status: B2B DEVSEL-MED
        Region 0: IO e8c0, size 0040
        Region 1: IO e8a0, size 0020

  [010010b9,01005237] [ 0.20.0 ] 10b9:5237 Rev 0x03  Class 12.3.16
   CmdStatus 02800006:
        CMD: MEM MASTER
     Status: B2B DEVSEL-MED
        Region 0: MEM 32bit at 0x07011000, size 0x00001000

bus: cpu on memory 00000000..80000000
  [03000000,03000002] intel21285, 1 IO regions
   Region 0 - 42000000, size 00100000, mulitplier 0001
>

Name

display — Display and image on console.

Synopsis

console [-d, --device device] [-x x] [-y y] [-w, --width width] [-h, --height height] [--delay time] [--help] [--version] file...

Options

-d, --device: console device on which to plot image.
-x: x co-ordinate to place image on screen.
-y: y co-ordinate to place image on screen.
-w, --width: width of image on screen.
-h, --height: height of image on screen.
--delay: time to delay between displaying each image.
--help: display short helptext and exit
--version: display commands version and exit

Description

This command displays an image on screen if it is one of the recognised formats. The currently supported image formats are BMP and PGM.

Example 32. Using the display command

This shows using the console command on the EB2410ITX to find a suitable output device and then using that driver to display a bitmap file from a tftp server.

>console -d
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial1)
(-w-a)  s3c2410x-video
(r---)  usbkbd
(rw--)  multi
(rw--)  null
(-w--)  all-wr
(r---)  all-rd
(rw--)  serial
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial2)
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial0)
>display -d s3c2410x-video (tftpboot)logo.bmp
>

Simtec logo displayed with the display command on an EB2410ITX video console

Name

help — Display help on built in commands

Synopsis

help [command]

Options

command: inbuilt command name

Description

Without a parameter this command lists the in-built commands understood by the shell. Specifying a command name prints a brief help message for that command which is typically the same as using the --help option.

Example 33. Using the help command

This shows the help command being used to get help on the help command itself, it then shows obtaining help on the sh command and obtaining the same information with the --help option.

>help
Internal commands are:
sh           autoboot     sbcd         bast-hdlcd   pic-wr       pic-rd
bast-at2     bast-at      dmcfg-rd     dmcfg-wr     pmu          shadow
mii          ifconfig     set          [            test         console
display      file         hwinfo       wrout        version      nvclear
nvunset      nvsave       nvshow       nvset        uname        sum
tasks        sleep        showhz       sysmsg       setopt       showargs
setargs      reset        memset       meminfo      peek         poke
modules      ls           lsfs         help         echo         dumpfile
dump         cat          cp           cd           pwd          boot
load         history      vtp5         vtp4         vtp3         vtp2
vtp1         sysspeed     settime      setdate      devls        date

Use:
  help <command> to get brief explanation
  <command> --help for command usage (if available)
>help help
Help on help:
Lists available commands, Optional arg gives help on specific command.
Please report bugs to <support@simtec.co.uk>
>help sh
Help on sh:
Usage: sh [OPTION] [FILE]
start a shell.

  -i              start an interactive shell
       --help     display this help and exit
       --version  output version information and exit


Please report bugs to <support@simtec.co.uk>
>sh --help
Usage: sh [OPTION] [FILE]
start a shell.

  -i              start an interactive shell
       --help     display this help and exit
       --version  output version information and exit

Please report bugs to <support@simtec.co.uk>
>

The Example 3.5, “Getting help on the uname command” is another example of using the help command.

Name

history — Lists the commands in the command line history.

Synopsis

history

Description

Lists the commands in the command line history. Each command is numbered in the list. The number of commands kept in the history is set with the shell.hist non-volatile variable.

Commands are accessed in the history by using the up and down arrows. The command may be edited in place and then executed as with any other command line as if typed in.

Example 34. Using the history command

>history
 1 history
 2 meminfo
 3 tasks
 4 hwinfo -a
 5 hwinfo
>

Name

hwinfo — Print hardware information.

Synopsis

hwinfo [[-a] | [-u]] [--help] [--version]

Options

-a: displays all the hardware info fields.
-u: displays the systems unique ID
--help: display short helptext and exit
--version: display commands version and exit

Description

Show hardware specific information, typically the machines unique identification bytes.

Example 35. Using the hwinfo command

>hwinfo
  Unique ID:0x00:0x01:0x3d:0x00:0x01:0x6a
>

Name

man — Manual page display

Synopsis

man {command}

Options

command: Name of command to display man page for

Description

This command displays the manual page for a specified command. The manual pages are generated directly from the ABLE reference documentation and formatted for 80 column output. The output is stored on an ABLE accessible filesystem and and displayed with the ABLE pager. The pager output can be aborted with q.

Example 36. Using the man command

This example shows the man command used to get the manual page of the file command.

FILE(1)                   File manipulation commands                   FILE(1)



NAME
       file - Tests each argument in an attempt to classify it.

SYNOPSIS
       file [-i, --mime] [--help] [--version] file...

OPTIONS
       -i, --mime Causes the file command to output mime type strings rather
       than the more traditional human readable ones.

       --help display short helptext and exit

       --version display commands version and exit

DESCRIPTION
       The file command examines a given file and tries to determine the files
       type. The underlying detection code is the same as that used by ABLE
       when determining how to load and execute files, this is useful if the
       user wishes to check ABLE is correctly determining a files type.
       Example 48. Using the file command to determine filetypes.
--More--

Note

This command is only available on a limited number of platforms due to the size of the manual files required.

Name

meminfo — Shows memory information.

Synopsis

meminfo

Description

Shows the memory availabe within the system and the ABLE current memory usage.

Example 37. Using the meminfo command

>meminfo
Memory regions:
        30000000, size 04000000 (65536 KiB)
        34000000, size 04000000 (65536 KiB)

Memory pool: 382/3752 KiB, 18 free blocks
>

Name

modules — List ABLE modules

Synopsis

modules

Description

Lists all the ABLE modules within a particular build. ABLE is constructed using a small section of “head” or initialisation code and a number of modules. Each module provides a specific piece of functionality to the system e.g. the cmd_time module provides the time command to the shell.

The modules are loaded according to their priority, the lowest (most important) priority first rising to the highest (lowest importance). This priority system ensures a fixed load order so facilities and drivers are available in the appropriate sequence.

Example 38. Using the modules command

>modules 
current modules:
 cmd_time, priority=0x100
 cmd_devls, priority=0x100
 cmd_setdate, priority=0x100
 ax88796, priority=0x50000
 dm9000, priority=0x50000
 simtec_ide, priority=0x50000
 bbd2016a_ide, priority=0x50000
 anubis_bus, priority=0x65000
 bast_bus, priority=0x65000
 osiris_bus, priority=0x65000
 smdk2440_bus, priority=0x65000
 vr1000_bus, priority=0x65000
 samsung_s3c2410x, priority=0x65100
 dev_24cxx, priority=0x65801
 nvram_init, priority=0x65880
 s3c2410x_timer, priority=0x71000
 hztimer, priority=0xa0000
 cmd_sysspeed, priority=0xa6000
 romfs, priority=0xa7000
 serial_u16550, priority=0xa8800
 serial_s3c2410, priority=0xa8800
 serial_console, priority=0xa8a00
 allrd_console, priority=0xa8a00
 allwr_console, priority=0xa8a00
 null_console, priority=0xa8a00
 multi_console, priority=0xa8a00
 usbkbd, priority=0xa8a00
 ps2kbd_serpic, priority=0xa8a00
 s3cvid_console, priority=0xa8a00
 sm501vid_console, priority=0xa8a00
 console, priority=0xa8a01
 draminit, priority=0xa8a05
 drv_pmu_bast, priority=0xa9100
 usb_core, priority=0xa9800
 usb_ohci, priority=0xa9802
 announce, priority=0xa9fff
 confs, priority=0xaa001
 iso9660fs, priority=0xaa002
 ffs, priority=0xaa002
 ext2fs, priority=0xaa002
 jffs2, priority=0xaa002
 tftpboot, priority=0xaa002
 char_code, priority=0xaa003
 ide, priority=0xb0000
 ide_disc_drv, priority=0xb0001
 ide_cdrom_drv, priority=0xb0001
 rom, priority=0xb1000
 net_dm9000, priority=0xd1001
 netudp, priority=0xd1002
 netipv4, priority=0xd1002
 netif, priority=0xd1002
 net_isa_ne2k, priority=0xd1002
 net_ax88796, priority=0xd1002
 net_test1, priority=0xd1003
 cyclone_code, priority=0xd1101
 sh_osloader, priority=0xe0000
 app1_osloader, priority=0xe0000
 lzw_osloader, priority=0xe0000
 netbsd_osloader, priority=0xe0000
 linux_osloader, priority=0xe0000
 srec_osloader, priority=0xe0000
 zlib_osloader, priority=0xe0000
 tmp101, priority=0xe8000
 cmdload, priority=0xf0000
 cmdboot, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_cd, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_cp, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_cat, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_dump, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_echo, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_help, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_lsfs, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_ls, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_modules, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_poke, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_meminfo, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_memset, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_reset, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_sleep, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_wrout, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_hwinfo, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_file, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_display, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_cons, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_test, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_set, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_ifconfig, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_mii, priority=0xf0000
 cmd_autoboot, priority=0xf0001
 shell, priority=0xf0002
>

Name

pmu — Power management control

Synopsis

pmu [-o] [-r] [-w {state} ] [-n {state}] [-s] [-a] [-l]

Options

-o: turns power off
-r: hard reset
-w: set global wake on state to on with 1 or off with 0
-n: set wake on LAN state to on with 1 or off with 0
-s: set PMU value
-a: perform PMU action
-l: list current PMU values

Description

Used to manipulate the Power Management Unit of a platform.

Name

reset — Reset machine

Synopsis

reset

Description

This command may be used to reset the machine, the exact behaviour is system dependant.

On the EB7500ATX and EB2410ITX boards this command will communicate with the power management device to perform a physical system reset while the EB110ATX will perform a simple soft reset.

Name

sbcd — Manipulates the board configuration data.

Synopsis

sbcd [-l, --load {file}] [-s, --show] [-d, --drivers] [-h, --help]

Options

-l, --load: Load Simtec Electronics board configuration data for passing to an OS.
-s, --show: Show Simtec Electronics board configuration data
-d, --drivers: List Simtec Electronics board configuration data drivers
-h, --help: display short help message

Description

Simtec board configuration data control command, allows manipulation of the board configuration data on supported machines.

Name

setdate — Sets the date in the real time clock

Synopsis

setdate {day} {month} {year}

Options

day: day of month to set
month: month to set
year: year to set, two digit values will have 2000 added

Description

This command allows the date to be set in the real time clock. The real time clock is typically battery backed and the settings are retained across reboots.

Example 39. Using the setdate command to set the real time clock

>setdate 1 2 3
setdate: assuming year value is offset from 2000
>date
Sat Feb 01 17:59:52 2003
>reset
selected all-wr for console write
selected all-rd for console read
DRAM: 128 Mb (134217728 bytes)
BAST: PMU version 1.02, ID 00:01:3d:00:01:6a
ABLE 2.20 Copyright 2001-2005,2006 Simtec Electronics
hdb: ATAPI CDROM: TOSHIBA CD-ROM XM-7002B PIO mode 4
hdc: FUJITSU MHF2043AT: ATA PIO mode 4
hdc:Diagnosing disc drive: ok
(hdc) 4GB
(hdb) Drive Empty
DM9000: dm0: r1, 00:01:3d:00:01:6a int phy, link ok, 100Mbit full duplex
NE2000: ne0: ISA/Generic, 00:01:3d:00:01:6b
ne0: PHY 0180:bb10, state 7869, LPA 45e1,0007
ne0: starting PHY reset (264)
TMP101: not detected
sys.autoshadow unset, automatically shadowing
>date
Sat Feb 01 18:00:04 2003
>setdate 10 3 2006
>date
Fri Mar 10 18:00:33 2006
>

Name

setopt — Sets device options.

Synopsis

setopt {device} {options}

Options

device: device on which to set options.
options: options to apply to device

Description

This command allows device options to be altered, typically baud rates and data formats on character devices.

The device which options are applied to is typically a serial port. The console command can be used to obtain a list of appropriate devices with the -d option.

The options are in the form:

baud,data-format

The baud rate is a simple numeric value e.g. 115200 or 19200. The data format is specified as three single character values. The first denotes the number of data bits, typically eight or seven. The second sets the parity type one of none (n), odd (o) or even (e). The third is the number of stop bits either one or two.

The initial port options are detailed in Section 5.2, “Setting parameters on serial drivers”.

Example 40. Using the setopt command to alter serial port options.

This example shows the setopt command altering the baud rate of the second s3c2410 serial port to 19600.

>console -d
(-w-a)  s3c2410x-video
(r---)  usbkbd
(rw--)  multi
(rw--)  null
(-w--)  all-wr
(r---)  all-rd
(rw--)  serial
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial2)
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial1)
(rw--)  (s3c2410_serial0)
(rw--)  (u16550_serial1)
(rw--)  (u16550_serial0)
>setopt (s3c2410_serial1) 19600,8n1
>

Name

settime — Sets the real time clock

Synopsis

settime {hour} {minute} {second}

Options

hour: hour to set using 24 hour clock
minute: minute to set
second: second to set

Description

This command allows the time to be set in the real time clock. The real time clock is typically battery backed and the settings are retained across reboots.

Example 41. Using the settime command to set the real time clock

This example shows the time being altered, the system reset and the retention and correct update of the time across the reset.

>date
Wed Mar 22 16:37:11 2006
>settime 1 2 3
>date
Wed Mar 22 01:02:03 2006
>reset
selected all-wr for console write
selected all-rd for console read
DRAM: 128 Mb (134217728 bytes)
BAST: PMU version 1.02, ID 00:01:3d:00:01:6a
ABLE 2.21r1 Copyright 2001-2005,2006 Simtec Electronics
hdb: ATAPI CDROM: TOSHIBA CD-ROM XM-7002B PIO mode 4
hdc: FUJITSU MHF2043AT: ATA PIO mode 4
hdc:Diagnosing disc drive: ok
(hdc) 4GB
(hdb) Drive Empty
DM9000: dm0: r1, 00:01:3d:00:01:6a int phy, link ok, 100Mbit full duplex
NE2000: ne0: ISA/Generic, 00:01:3d:00:01:6b
ne0: PHY 0180:bb10, state 7869, LPA 45e1,0007
ne0: starting PHY reset (262)
TMP101: not detected
sys.autoshadow unset, automatically shadowing
>date
Wed Mar 22 01:02:26 2006
>settime 16 40 0
>date
Wed Mar 22 16:40:00 2006
>

Name

shadow — Moves ABLE into RAM

Synopsis

shadow

Description

Moves ABLE into RAM. This allows systems where ABLE executes directly from flash memory to move ABLE into RAM where it will execute faster, this is also required if the underlying flash memory is to be reprogrammed e.g. when upgrading ABLE

This command is largely deprecated and is generally now only used on the EB7500ATX. Most platforms are running ABLE shadowed as most current designs do not have directly mapped memory to execute from.

Name

showhz — Shows how long a system has been running

Synopsis

showhz

Description

ABLE maintains an internal timer which increments 100 times a second. The timer is started from 0 and hence gives an indication of the amount of time since the last reset.

This command displays the value of the system timer in hexadecimal, the value is also converted into seconds for convenience.

Example 42. Using the showhz command

>showhz; sleep 10; showhz
HZ: be36 (486 seconds)
HZ: c227 (497 seconds)
>showhz
HZ: 1f6b9 (1286 seconds)
>

Name

sysmsg — Show system messages.

Synopsis

sysmsg

Description

Displays the system message history buffer. This buffer contains all the messages ABLE has produced. Not all of these messages may have been output to the console, the console.level variable and the console command control which messages are displayed and which are simply placed in the message buffer.

Example 43. Displaying the system messages after a default boot

The system message log contains more information than will normally be output to the console, these messages can be useful for discovering problems.

selected all-wr for console write
selected all-rd for console read
DRAM: 128 Mb (134217728 bytes)
BAST: PMU version 1.02, ID 00:01:3d:00:01:6a
ABLE 2.20 Copyright 2001-2005,2006 Simtec Electronics
hdb: ATAPI CDROM: TOSHIBA CD-ROM XM-7002B PIO mode 4
hdc: FUJITSU MHF2043AT: ATA PIO mode 4
hdc:Diagnosing disc drive: ok
(hdc) 4GB
(hd0) on ((hdc1):ext2)
(hdb) Drive Empty
DM9000: dm0: r1, 00:01:3d:00:01:6a int phy, link ok, 100Mbit full duplex
NE2000: ne0: ISA/Generic, 00:01:3d:00:01:6b
TMP101: not detected
sys.autoshadow unset, automatically shadowing
>sysmsg
1: dcc: status 20000000, read 80f403c8
2: low level serial 00000000
3: log level is now 1
4: ABLE: 2.20 (s3c2410x) (vince@gerald) Thu Feb 16 14:47:40 GMT 2006
5: Processor: Samsung S3C2410A (arm920)
6: System: Machine bast/s3c2410x, Linux id 0x014b
7: S3C2410X RTC: 13:49:57, 03/01/2003
8: (s3c2410x) character device
9: NAND: configured boot slot is 0 (card slot)
10: NAND device 0: Samsung K9F1208u0a [131072,32,512]
11: (flash0) on (nand0p1)
12: (flash1) on ((nand0p2):jffs2)
13: EEPROM: 24cXX, 1024 bytes, single byte addressed, UID unset
14: (nvram0) on (24cxx0p1)
15: sys.speed is unset, Setting CPU Speed to 266MHz
16: (u16550_serial0) aliased to (char0)
17: (u16550_serial1) aliased to (char1)
18: s3c2410_serial: 115200, 8n1, 16 byte fifo on, u clock
19: (s3c2410_serial0) aliased to (char2)
20: s3c2410_serial: 115200, 8n1, 16 byte fifo on, u clock
21: (s3c2410_serial1) aliased to (char3)
22: s3c2410_serial: 115200, 8n1, 16 byte fifo on, u clock
23: (s3c2410_serial2) aliased to (char4)
24: all-wr: adding console 'serial'
25: all-wr: adding console 'null'
26: no configuration, defaulting to VGA
27: Chrontel CH7006 detected
28: screen mode is 640x480, ?Hz, ?Hz HSync
29: video: video size 300K
30: s3c-fb: VClk=22166666 HZ
31: configuring ch7006: vga
32: all-wr: adding console 's3c2410x-video'
33: failed to find SM501 device
34: no console level set, setting 6
35: selected all-wr for console write
36: selected all-rd for console read
37: DRAM: 128 Mb (134217728 bytes)
38: BAST: PMU version 1.02, ID 00:01:3d:00:01:6a
39: usb.enable not set, setting 1
40: usb.hubdepth not set, setting 2
41: new hc e036d1b4
42: starting hc e036d1b4
43: ABLE 2.20 Copyright 2001-2005,2006 Simtec Electronics
44: hdb: ATAPI CDROM: TOSHIBA CD-ROM XM-7002B PIO mode 4
45: hdc: FUJITSU MHF2043AT: ATA PIO mode 4
46: hdc:Diagnosing disc drive: ok
47: (hdc) 4GB
48: (hd0) on ((hdc1):ext2)
49: (hdb) Drive Empty
50: DM9000: dm0: r1, 00:01:3d:00:01:6a int phy, link ok, 100Mbit full duplex
51: NE2000: ne0: ISA/Generic, 00:01:3d:00:01:6b
52: ne0: PHY 0180:bb10, state 7849, LPA 0000,0004
53: ne0: starting PHY reset (238)
54: TMP101: not detected
55: sys.autoshadow unset, automatically shadowing
56: >ne0: bringing PHY up (489)
57: sysmsg
>

Name

sysspeed — Sets the system clockspeed

Synopsis

sysspeed [speed]

Options

speed: system speed in MHz, a integer number is required and the MHz units should be omitted.

Description

Displays possible speeds with no parameters or sets the system speed in MHz.

Example 44. Using the syspeed command on a EB2410ITX

This shows the sysspeed command being used to list possible values with the * indicating the current selected speed. The speed is changed to 226 MHz from 266MHz and redisplayed.

>sysspeed
    34 MHz        45 MHz        51 MHz        48 MHz        56 MHz
    68 MHz        79 MHz        85 MHz        90 MHz       101 MHz
   113 MHz       118 MHz       124 MHz       135 MHz       147 MHz
   152 MHz       158 MHz       170 MHz       180 MHz       186 MHz
   192 MHz       203 MHz       210 MHz       226 MHz    *  266 MHz
   268 MHz       270 MHz
>sysspeed 226
Setting CPU Speed to 226MHz
CPU Speed successfully changed
>sysspeed
    34 MHz        45 MHz        51 MHz        48 MHz        56 MHz
    68 MHz        79 MHz        85 MHz        90 MHz       101 MHz
   113 MHz       118 MHz       124 MHz       135 MHz       147 MHz
   152 MHz       158 MHz       170 MHz       180 MHz       186 MHz
   192 MHz       203 MHz       210 MHz    *  226 MHz       266 MHz
   268 MHz       270 MHz
>

Name

tasks — Displays task threads currently running on system.

Synopsis

tasks

Description

ABLE runs several threads to control various hardware devices. This command displays the currently running threads.

The information is presented in a tabular form. The columns are:

Task name and address

Priority of execution

Current state

Time thread was last scheduled

The scheduling for the threads is a simple “round robin” method which suffices for ABLE requirements.

Example 45. Using the tasks command

This example shows the tasks command when run on a EB2410ITX. The showhz command is used to show the current system time which is the same as used in the “Last Run” column. It shows the Ethernet PHY control task, the USB host controller driver, the reaper task to clean up after other tasks, the init task which starts the system and the main task which typically runs the autoboot or interactive shell.

>showhz ; tasks ; showhz
HZ: 13e6034 (208650 seconds)
                 Task Priority  State   Regs     Last Run
--------------------- --------  ------- -------- --------
 ax88796-mii e0369794 00000000  r---y-  e03697d0 013e604e
      usb-hc e036c934 00100000  r---y-  e036c970 013e6057
      reaper e03c1a54 00000100  r---y-  e03c1a90 013e6060
        init e03c7de4 10000000  r-----  e03c7e20 013e6068
        main e03c7f34 7f000000  r-----  e03c7f70 013e6071
HZ: 13e607a (208651 seconds)
>

Name

uname — Print system identification

Synopsis

uname [-a, --all] [-s, --kernel-name] [-n, --nodename] [-r, --kernel-release] [-v, --kernel-version] [-m, --machine] [-o, --operating-system] [--help] [--version]

Options

-a, --all: print all information, in the following order:
-s, --kernel-name: print the kernel name
-n, --nodename: print the network node hostname
-r, --kernel-release: print the kernel release
-v, --kernel-version: print the kernel version
-m, --machine: print the machine hardware name
-o, --operating-system: print the operating system
--help: display this help and exit
--version: output version information and exit

Description

Print system identification, this command is practically identical in use to equivalent commands under UNIX®.

The uname command prints information about the machine and operating system it is run on. If no options are given the -s option is assumed.

The information printed is always in the order kernel-name, nodename, kernel-release, machine and operating system. The values displayed may contain spaces or punctuation.

Example 46. Using the uname command on the EB2410ITX

>uname
ABLE
>uname -a
ABLE unknown 2.21 #1 Mon Mar 13 12:19:51 GMT 2006 s3c2410x ABLE
>uname -r
2.21
>uname -v
#1 Mon Mar 13 12:19:51 GMT 2006
>

Name

version — Display ABLE shell version

Synopsis

version

Description

Displays the version number and build information of the currently executing instance of ABLE. This is the same text which is output during the boot process.

The information provided by this command is also available from the uname command.

Example 47. Using the version command

>version 
ABLE 2.20 Copyright 2001-2005,2006 Simtec Electronics 
>

Name

wrout — Write a string to an output file.

Synopsis

wrout {file} {string}

Options

file: filename of file to write
string: string to write to file

Description

This command allows output to be sent to a file, this can be a special device such as (char2).

Shell Commands

These are the commands which can be used to perform operations related to the ABLE shell.

Table of Contents

echo — Output some text to standard output
exit — Exit ABLE shell
read — Reads a line of input into shell variables
sh — Start a new ABLE shell
sleep — Delay for a specified amount of time
test — Performs test operations

Name

echo — Output some text to standard output

Synopsis

echo [-n] [-e] {text}

Options

-n: do not output the trailing newline
-e: enable interpretation of the backslash-escaped characters
text: text to display

Description

This command is used to display text on the output console. One use is in scripts to indicate what actions are being performed.

If the -e option is used, the following sequences are recognised:

Table 7. Escaped echo characters

Character	Result
\0NNN	the character whose ASCII code is NNN (octal)
\\	backslash
\a	alert (BEL)
\b	backspace
\c	suppress trailing newline (same as the `-n` option)
\f	form feed
\n	new line
\r	carriage return
\t	horizontal tab
\v	vertical tab

Example 48. Using the echo command

>echo pepper;echo fish 
pepper 
fish 
>echo -n pepper;echo fish 
pepperfish 
>

Name

exit — Exit ABLE shell

Synopsis

exit [status]

Options

status: integer exit status.

Description

Cause the shell to exit with a specified status. If the status code is omitted the exit status is that of the last command executed.

If the initial shell is exited any additional modules with lower priority will be executed, ultimately if no further modules are available the system will halt.

Name

read — Reads a line of input into shell variables

Synopsis

read [-d {delimiter}] [-e] [-n {number}] [-p {prompt}] [-s] [-t {timeout}] [-u {file}] {variable...}

Options

-d delimiter: The delimiter is a single character which is used to terminate the input line the default if this option is not given is newline.
-e: If the input is not coming from a file (-u isn't used) the input will be read with a line editor. This line editor is the same as the main shell but with no history.
-n number: The command exits after reading the specified number of characters.
-p prompt: The prompt will be output before starting to accept input. The prompt is only displayed if -u is not being used.
-s: If the -u is not being used characters entered are usually displayed, this switch inhibits this display. This can be used for password entry.
-t timeout: this stops reading input after the timeout and exits with a non zero exit code. The option has no effect if the -u option is being used.
-u fd: Instead of reading input from the console read from the given file descriptor.
variable: The names of the variables to place the read text into. If no names are supplied the input is put into the REPLY variable.

Description

One line is read from the console, or from the file descriptor supplied as an argument to the -u option, and the first word is assigned to the first variable name, the second word to the second name, and so on, with leftover words and their intervening separators assigned to the last name. If there are fewer words read from the input stream than names, the remaining names are assigned empty values.

The characters in IFS are used to split the line into words unless the delimiter switch is used.

The return code is zero, unless end-of-file is encountered, read times out, or an invalid file is supplied as the argument to -u.

Example 49. Using the read command

This example shows the use to the read command in several ways. Firstly reading simple text without a prompt and then with a long prompt.

>read
some text
>echo $REPLY
some text
>read -p "a long prompt $"
a long prompt $some text with a long prompt
>echo $REPLY
some text with a long prompt
>

This shows reading values into a specified variable and how the REPLY variable is unaffected.

>REPLY="no reply"
>read -p $ VARIABLE
$some text with a prompt in VARIABLE
>echo $VARIABLE
some text with a prompt in VARIABLE
>echo $REPLY
no reply
>

This shows the use of the silent switch to suppress echoing of output.

>read -s VARIABLE

>echo $VARIABLE
some text in VARIABLE with silent enabled
>

This shows the use of the delimiter and timeout options to read a preset number of characters and perform a read within a set amount of time.

>read -n 5 VARIABLE
12345>echo $VARIABLE
12345
>read -d 9 VARIABLE
this text continues until a 9>echo $VARIABLE
this text continues until a
>echo $?
0
>read -t 3 VARIABLE
>echo $?
1
>echo $VARIABLE
this text continues until a
>

Name

sh — Start a new ABLE shell

Synopsis

sh [-x] [-e] [-v] [-i] [--help] [--version]

Options

-x: Display the command to be executed with its variables expanded.
-e: Exit immediately if a command fails
-v: Display lines of input as they are read.
-i: Start an interactive shell
--help: Display short helptext and exit
--version: Display commands version and exit

Description

This command starts a new ABLE shell, for full information on using the shell refer to Chapter 3, Command Line Interface. The newly created shell environment is separate from the invoking shell, variables from the parent are not available and upon exit any variables set within the shell are lost.

Example 50. Subshell variable scope

This example shows setting variables in the outer shell and in the subshell and their scope.

>echo ${FOO}

>echo ${BAR}

>FOO="hello and goodbye"
>BAR="goodbye and hello"
>sh
>echo ${FOO}

>echo ${BAR}

>BAR="something else"
>FOO="entirely"
>echo ${FOO} ${BAR}
something else entirely
>exit
>echo ${FOO}
hello and goodbye
>echo ${BAR}
goodbye and hello
>

The -x, -e and -v switches control the shells overall behaviour, these variables are accessed from the shell using the special variable $_.

Name

sleep — Delay for a specified amount of time

Synopsis

sleep {time}

Options

time: Time in seconds to delay

Description

This command is used to pause execution for a given length of time. The time given must be a simple integer number of seconds.

Example 51. Using the sleep command to delay execution

>date ; sleep 15 ; date ; sleep 9 ; date ; sleep 292 ; date
Fri Jan 05 04:25:51 2003
Fri Jan 05 04:26:06 2003
Fri Jan 05 04:26:15 2003
Fri Jan 05 04:31:07 2003
>

Name

test — Performs test operations

Synopsis

test [--help] [--version] expression

Options

--help: Display this help and exit
--version: Output version information and exit
expression: Expression to evaluate.

Description

Exit with the status determined by the expression (shown in Table 8, “Possible test expressions”).

An omitted expression defaults to false. Otherwise, the expression is evaluated to a true or false result and sets exit status accordingly.

An alias is provided so this command can be called as [ this gives a more familiar way to use this command.

For the tests which check for a file having UNIX® read or write permissions ABLE assumes the root (UID 0 and GID 0) superuser is being used.

Table 8. Possible test expressions

Test	Result is true if
( `expression` )	`expression` is true
! `expression`	`expression` is false
`expression1` -a `expression2`	both `expression1` and `expression2` are true
`expression1` -o `expression2`	either `expression1` or `expression2` is true
-n `string`	the length of `string` is nonzero
`string`	equivalent to -n `string`
-z `string`	the length of `string` is zero
`string1` = `string2`	the strings are equal
`string1` != `string2`	the strings are not equal
`integer1` -eq `integer2`	`integer1` is equal to `integer2`
`integer1` -ge `integer2`	`integer1` is greater than or equal to `integer2`
`integer1` -gt `integer2`	`integer1` is greater than `integer2`
`integer1` -le `integer2`	`integer1` is less than or equal to `integer2`
`integer1` -lt `integer2`	`integer1` is less than `integer2`
`integer1` -ne `integer2`	`integer1` is not equal to `integer2`
`file1` -ef `file2`	`file1` and `file2` have the same device and inode numbers
`file1` -nt `file2`	`file1` is newer (modification date) than `file2`
`file1` -ot `file2`	`file1` is older than `file2`
-b `file`	`file` exists and is block special
-c `file`	`file` exists and is character special
-d `file`	`file` exists and is a directory
-e `file`	`file` exists
-f `file`	`file` exists and is a regular file
-g `file`	`file` exists and is set-group-ID
-G `file`	`file` exists and is owned by the effective group ID
-h `file`	`file` exists and is a symbolic link (same as -L)
-k `file`	`file` exists and has its sticky bit set
-L `file`	`file` exists and is a symbolic link (same as -h)
-O `file`	`file` exists and is owned by the effective user ID
-p `file`	`file` exists and is a named pipe
-r `file`	`file` exists and read permission is granted
-s `file`	`file` exists and has a size greater than zero
-S `file`	`file` exists and is a socket
-t `fd`	file descriptor `fd` is opened on a terminal
-u `file`	`file` exists and its set-user-ID bit is set
-w `file`	`file` exists and write permission is granted
-x `file`	`file` exists and execute (or search) permission is granted

Except for -h and -L, all file-related tests dereference symbolic links. Beware that parentheses need to be escaped (e.g., by back-slashes) for shells.

Example 52. Performing assorted tests

This example shows the use of the test command with various expressions. Each test uses “&& echo true” to make it clear when the expression returns a true (zero) exit status.

>test ! ( 1 -ge 0 ) && echo true
>echo $?
1
>test ( 1 -ge 0 ) && echo true
true
>echo $?
0
>test ! ( 1 -ge 0 ) && echo true
>test ! ( 0 -ge 1 ) && echo true
true
>test -f (hd0)/etc/services && echo true
true
>test -f (hd0)/etc/services -a ( 1 -ge 0 ) && echo true
true
>test -f (hd0)/etc/services -a ( 1 -ge 2 ) && echo true
>test -f (hd0)/etc/services -o ( 1 -ge 2 ) && echo true
true
>test -n "foo" && echo true
true
>test -n "" && echo true
>test -z "foo" && echo true
>test "foo" = "foo" && echo true
true
>test "foo" = "bar" && echo true
>test "foo" != "bar" && echo true
true
>test 1 -eq 2 && echo true
>test 1 -eq 1 && echo true
true
>test 1 -ge 0 && echo true
true
>test 1 -ge 1 && echo true
true
>test 1 -ge 2 && echo true
>test 1 -gt 1 && echo true
>test 1 -le 2 && echo true
true
>test 1 -le 1 && echo true
true
>test 1 -le 0 && echo true
>test 1 -lt 1 && echo true
>test 1 -ne 1 && echo true
>test 1 -ne 0 && echo true
true
>test -f (hd0)/etc/services
>test -f (hd0)/etc/services && echo true
true
>test -d (hd0)/etc/services && echo true
>test -d (hd0)/etc && echo true
true
>test -b (hd0)/etc/services && echo true
>test -b (hd0)/dev/hda && echo true
true
>test -c (hd0)/dev/hda && echo true
test -c (hd0)/dev/tty  && echo true
true
>

Network operations

These are the commands for controlling the network interfaces.

Table of Contents

ifconfig — Network device configuration and selection
mii — MII phy control

Name

ifconfig — Network device configuration and selection

Synopsis

ifconfig [-a] [-s] [--help] [--version] {interface} [address] [netmask{address}] [gateway{address}] [tftpserver{address} ] [[up] | [down]]

Options

-a: Displays information about all available interfaces
-s: Changes output to short format
--help: Display commands syntax then exits
--version: Displays commands version then exits
address: Address to assign to interface e.g. 192.168.7.101
interface: Name e.g. ne0 or de0 unless -a is used
netmask: Netmask to assign to interface e.g. 255.255.255.0
gateway: Default gateway to assign to interface e.g. 192.168.7.1
tftpserver: TFTP server address to use e.g. 192.168.7.10
up: Selects the interface as operational and the default.
down: Disables the interface.

Description

This command allows network interfaces to be manually configured and different interfaces to be selected.

Normally ABLE will use DHCP on the default interface when retrieving files over tftp, the default interface may be changed with this command by using just the up flag (see Example 53, “Using the ifconfig command to select default interface”)

By using the other parameters the interface may be configured with IPv4 addresses. Configuring in this way removes the requirement of using a DHCP server.

Example 53. Using the ifconfig command to select default interface

>ifconfig -a
dm0       HWaddr 00:01:3d:20:20:20

ne0       HWaddr 00:01:3d:ff:ff:00

>ifconfig dm0 up
looking for net.dm0
net.dm0:selected as boot interface
>ifconfig ne0 up
looking for net.ne0
net.ne0:selected as boot interface
>

Example 54. Using the ifconfig command to configure a fixed address

This example shows the first davicom interface (dm0) being configured with the IP protocol address 192.168.7.101 with a netmast of 255.255.255.0 and to use the tftpserver 192.168.7.10 no default gateway has been specified.

>ifconfig dm0 192.168.7.101 netmask 255.255.255.0 tftpserver 192.168.7.10 up
looking for net.dm0
net.dm0:selected as boot interface
>

Name

mii — MII phy control

Synopsis

mii {-d, --dev device} [-p, --phy address] [-s, --show] [-r, --read address] [-w, --write address value] [-h, --help]

Options

-d, --dev: Performs operation on the specified device
-p, --phy: Specify phy address on device
-s, --show: Show all registers for phy
-r, --read: Read mii register
-w, --write: Write mii register
-h, --help: Display short help message

Description

Gives control of MII phy parameters on supported network controllers.

Example 55. Using the mii command to show all the registers in a phy

>mii -d ne0 -s
 [00] = 3000  [01] = 7849  [02] = 0180  [03] = bb10
 [04] = 01e1  [05] = 0000  [06] = 0004  [07] = 2001
 [08] = 0000  [09] = 0000  [10] = 0000  [11] = 0000
 [12] = 0000  [13] = 0000  [14] = 0000  [15] = 0000
 [16] = 0000  [17] = 0283  [18] = 11dd  [19] = 0000
 [20] = 0000  [21] = 5256  [22] = 07ec  [23] = 4001
 [24] = 0800  [25] = 2041  [26] = 07cf  [27] = 1c11
 [28] = 0010  [29] = 1000  [30] = 0000  [31] = 0001
>

File Navigation

These are the file commands are available from the shell command line of ABLE from version 2.20 and later.

Table of Contents

cd — Change present working directory
ls — List files in directory
lsfs — List available filesystems
pwd — Show present working directory

Name

cd — Change present working directory

Synopsis

cd [directory]

Options

directory: Directory to set as present working directory.

Description

This changes the present working directory of the shell to the specified directory, the change may be relative to the current directory or an absolute path.

Example 56. Using the cd and ls commands to navigate a filesystem

This shows using the cd command to change into the boot directory of the first hard drive and then perform a relative move into the var directory.

>cd (hd0)/boot
>ls
config-2.6.13-simtec1
vmlinuz-2.6.13-simtec1
>cd ../var
>ls
lib
cache
backups
local
lock
log
run
spool
tmp
opt
mail
>

Name

ls — List files in directory

Synopsis

ls [-l] [-a] [directory]

Options

-l: Long listing giving more information.
-a: Listing includes all files.
directory: Directory to list.

Description

This command produces a list of all the files in a given directory, if no directory is specified then the present working directory is shown. Example 56, “Using the cd and ls commands to navigate a filesystem” shows the listing of the PWD.

Listing the “root” directory (ls /) is the same as the lsfs command and lists all the available filesystems.

Example 57. Using the ls command

This shows a simple directory listing of the first hard disc partition with a filesystem.

>ls (hd0)
lost+found
etc
media
var
usr
bin
boot
dev
home
lib
mnt
proc
root
sbin
tmp
sys
srv
opt
>

This shows a detailed directory listing of the first hard disc partition with a filesystem.

>ls -l -a (hd0)
drwxr-xr-x   22 0 0     4096 .
drwxr-xr-x   22 0 0     4096 ..
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0    49152 lost+found
drwxr-xr-x   73 0 0     4096 etc
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 media
drwxr-xr-x   13 0 0     4096 var
drwxr-xr-x   12 0 0     4096 usr
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 bin
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 boot
drwxr-xr-x    7 0 0    24576 dev
drwxrwxr-x    5 0 50    4096 home
drwxr-xr-x    9 0 0     4096 lib
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 mnt
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 proc
drwxr-xr-x    5 0 0     4096 root
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 sbin
drwxrwxrwx    4 0 0     4096 tmp
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 sys
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 srv
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 opt
>

This shows the PWD being changed and the ls command used to display the directory contents.

>cd (hd0)
>ls -l -a
drwxr-xr-x   22 0 0     4096 .
drwxr-xr-x   22 0 0     4096 ..
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0    49152 lost+found
drwxr-xr-x   73 0 0     4096 etc
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 media
drwxr-xr-x   13 0 0     4096 var
drwxr-xr-x   12 0 0     4096 usr
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 bin
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 boot
drwxr-xr-x    7 0 0    24576 dev
drwxrwxr-x    5 0 50    4096 home
drwxr-xr-x    9 0 0     4096 lib
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 mnt
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 proc
drwxr-xr-x    5 0 0     4096 root
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 sbin
drwxrwxrwx    4 0 0     4096 tmp
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 sys
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 srv
drwxr-xr-x    2 0 0     4096 opt
>

Name

lsfs — List available filesystems

Synopsis

lsfs [-p, --partitions] [-v, --verbose] [-h, --help]

Options

-p, --partitions: Show all partition information.
-v, --verbose: More verbose output.
-h, --help: Display short helptext and exit.

Description

This command lists available filesystems.

Example 58. Using the lsfs command

This shows the lsfs command displaying all the filesystem devices which can be used to read data from. The aliases with a filesystem specifier have been recognised and can be navigated with the other filesystem commands.

>lsfs
(hd0) alias for ((hdc1):ext2)
(nvram0) alias for (24cxx0p1)
(flash1) alias for ((nand0p2):jffs2)
(flash0) alias for (nand0p1)
>lsfs -v
(hd0) alias for ((hdc1):ext2)
(nvram0) alias for (24cxx0p1)
(flash1) alias for ((nand0p2):jffs2)
(flash0) alias for (nand0p1)
((hdc1):ext2)
(nor0)
(hdc1)
(hdc)
(tftpboot)
(xmodem)
(console)
(char4)
(char3)
(char2)
(char1)
(char0)
(24cxx0p1)
(24cxx0)
(nand0p2)
(nand0p1)
(nand0)
(s3c2410x)
>lsfs -p
((hdc1):ext2)
(nor0) dev e03be754, start 0x00000000, size 0x00200000 blksz 0x0001
(hdc1) dev e03bec74, start 0x0000003f, size 0x007a90b5 blksz 0x0200
(hdc) dev e03bec74, start 0x00000000, size 0x7ffffffe blksz 0x0200
(tftpboot)
(xmodem)
(console)
(char4) char4 character device
(char3) char3 character device
(char2) char2 character device
(char1) char1 character device
(char0) char0 character device
(24cxx0p1) dev e03c2f14, start 0x00000008, size 0x000001f8 blksz 0x0001
(24cxx0) dev e03c2f14, start 0x00000000, size 0x00000400 blksz 0x0001
(nand0p2) dev e03c44b4, start 0x00000020, size 0x00001fe0 blksz 0x0200
(nand0p1) dev e03c44b4, start 0x00000000, size 0x00000020 blksz 0x0200
(nand0) dev e03c44b4, start 0x00000000, size 0x04000000 blksz 0x0200
(s3c2410x) s3c2410x character device
>

Name

pwd — Show present working directory

Synopsis

pwd

Description

This command can be used to show the present working directory. This information is also available in the PWD shell variable.

Example 59. Using the pwd command and PWD variable to show the present working directory

>cd (hd0)/boot
>pwd
(hd0)/boot
>echo $PWD
(hd0)/boot
>cd ../var
>pwd
(hd0)/var
>

File manipulation commands

These are the commands to manipulate files and are available from the shell command line of ABLE from version 2.20 and later.

Table of Contents

cat — Displays contents of a text file
cp — Copy a file.
dumpfile — Displays a file in a hexadecimal dump
file — Tests each argument in an attempt to classify it.
sum — Checksum a file

Name

cat — Displays contents of a text file

Synopsis

cat {filename}

Options

filename: File to display

Description

Use to display the contents of a file. The file will be displayed in ASCII text, non printable characters and escape sequences may cause various effects. This is usually only an issue if binary files are displayed.

Example 60. Using cat command to display files contents

This example shows the display of two files one text and one binary.

>cat (hd0)/etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/bin/sh
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/bin/sh
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/bin/sh
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
>

This shows the display of part of a binary file and the undesirable effects.

>cat (hd0)/bin/ls
fb..p@VaeM`mLXkZ/.([=+$P*.nqBo      NU^.......!.,.&.>.AI)04RD"
<8 \ WQ J]:G9$..4 .(..44.4.....oo.o........b..b.... . . .P.U..... .. .. .bb...Hl
K ;[.T.  |.*.P. *.+., I|.  ....< i..
. ....8. +...` ...   . nye...  1.U&. nyy....  ...+ ..a.( 2.... c.u., i.0 >. . ..
|....w...4..?.o.....1.p..aP#......T#........e..4..`.e.a.H>.0.U&..nyR.i....i.0...
T.U.o.e.....o. ....H....o.`.H.h. ..ny<.U&..ny......m.A.0..i...L...t..
.0....$...$.....0...k<....g.H.d.n.T.D..&.`.
..
.l.8.x.T.......o...P..
...
..... . ..... .P#..nya....P.U&..nyb......b.a..~.a. .......Uu....u. .x..H.w. ....
P.. .\.0 ..".   ....  1.+.  K.\#..  a...
...".  A". 8+". >I". .". AP#. %T#. &X#. o\#. A. . .u . .!. ..!. !. __#+ _+ o+ .
$!. (!. ,!...0!...4!...8!...<!...@!...D!..H!...L!..P!..!...X!...\!...`!...d!.."R
"..S."..T."..U"..V."..X "..Z$"..[("..\,"..]0"..^4".._8"..`<"..a@"..bD"..cH"..d.a

Name

cp — Copy a file.

Synopsis

cp {source} {destination}

Options

source: File to copy from.
destination: File to copy to.

Description

Copy source file to destination.

Name

dumpfile — Displays a file in a hexadecimal dump

Synopsis

dumpfile {filename} [-s, --start {offset}] [-l, --length {length}] [-b, --blksize {size}] [-t, --text] [--help]

Options

filename: File to dump
-s, --start offset: Offset, in bytes, into the file to start the dump
-l, --length length: Length of data, in bytes, to dump
-b, --blksize size: Block size
-t, --text: Dump text only, no hex output
--help: Display short helptext and exit

Description

Use to display the contents of a file in a hexadecimal dump. The output will be put through a pager and can be aborted with q.

Care should be taken with the parameters to this command which come after the filename.

Example 61. Using the dumpfile command

This example shows the dumpfile command being used in text only mode to show the first 300 bytes of a file.

>dumpfile (hd0)/etc/services -t -l 300
dump: (hd0)/etc/services is 17571 bytes long, dumping 0 to 300
00000000: # Network services, Internet style.#.# Note that it is presently
00000040:  the policy of IANA to assign a single well-known.# port number
00000080: for both TCP and UDP; hence, officially ports have two entries.#
000000c0:  even if the protocol doesn't support UDP operations..#.# Update
00000100: d from http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers and other.#
>

This shows the file dump of the same file with hex output and starting with a hundred byte offset into the file.

>dumpfile (hd0)/etc/services -s 100
dump: (hd0)/etc/services is 17571 bytes long, dumping 100 to 17571
00000064: 7720656c 2d6c6c65 776f6e6b 20230a6e : le well-known.#
00000074: 74726f70 6d756e20 20726562 20726f66 : port number for
00000084: 68746f62 50435420 646e6120 50445520 : both TCP and UDP
00000094: 6568203b 2c65636e 66666f20 61696369 : ; hence, officia
000000a4: 20796c6c 74726f70 61682073 74206576 : lly ports have t
000000b4: 65206f77 6972746e 230a7365 65766520 : wo entries.# eve
000000c4: 6669206e 65687420 6f727020 6f636f74 : n if the protoco
000000d4: 6f64206c 276e7365 75732074 726f7070 : l doesn't suppor
000000e4: 44552074 706f2050 74617265 736e6f69 : t UDP operations
000000f4: 0a230a2e 70552023 65746164 72662064 : ..#.# Updated fr
00000104: 68206d6f 3a707474 77772f2f 61692e77 : om http://www.ia
00000114: 6f2e616e 612f6772 67697373 6e656d6e : na.org/assignmen
00000124: 702f7374 2d74726f 626d756e 20737265 : ts/port-numbers
00000134: 20646e61 6568746f 20230a72 72756f73 : and other.# sour
00000144: 20736563 656b696c 74746820 2f2f3a70 : ces like http://
00000154: 2e777777 65657266 2e647362 2f67726f : www.freebsd.org/
00000164: 2f696763 77737663 632e6265 732f6967 : cgi/cvsweb.cgi/s
00000174: 652f6372 732f6374 69767265 20736563 : rc/etc/services
00000184: 20230a2e 2077654e 74726f70 69772073 : ..# New ports wi
00000194: 62206c6c 64612065 20646564 72206e6f : ll be added on r
--MORE--
>

Name

file — Tests each argument in an attempt to classify it.

Synopsis

file [-i, --mime] [--help] [--version] filename...

Options

-i, --mime: Causes the file command to output mime type strings rather than the more traditional human readable ones.
--help: Display short helptext and exit
--version: Display commands version and exit
filename: Name of file to checksum

Description

The file command examines a given file and tries to determine the files type. The underlying detection code is the same as that used by ABLE when determining how to load and execute files, this is useful if the user wishes to check ABLE is correctly determining a files type. Section 6.6, “How ABLE identifies files.” has more information on the detection method.

Example 62. Using the file command to determine filetypes

>file (hd0)/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.13-simtec1
(hd0)/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.13-simtec1: Linux Kernel
>file (tftpboot)test.sh
(tftpboot)test.sh: shell
>file (tftpboot)srec
(tftpboot)srec: Motorola S Record
>file (hd0)/etc/services
(hd0)/etc/services: data
>file (hd0)/bin/ls (hd0)/etc/services (hd0)/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.13-simtec1
(hd0)/bin/ls: elf
(hd0)/etc/services: ASCII text
(hd0)/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.13-simtec1: Linux Kernel
>file -i (hd0)/bin/ls (hd0)/etc/services (hd0)/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.13-simtec1
(hd0)/bin/ls: application/x-executable
(hd0)/etc/services: text/plain
(hd0)/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.13-simtec1: application/octet-stream
>

Name

sum — Checksum a file

Synopsis

sum {filename}

Options

filename: Name of file to checksum

Description

Checksum a file, the value produced is the same as the sum command under UNIX®. This allows for files to be verified before loading with ABLE.

Example 63. Checksumming a file with the sum command

>sum (tftpboot)s3c2410-romwrite-220.bin
..........................................................
........................................
crc = 32182, 417 Kb processed,  (tftpboot)s3c2410-romwrite-220.bin
>

Non-volatile settings

These are the commands to manipulate non-volatile memory entries and are available from the shell command line of ABLE from version 1.55 and later.

Table of Contents

nvclear — Reset non-volatile settings to defaults
nvsave — Save altered non-volatile settings
nvset — Set non-volatile parameters
nvshow — Show non-volatile parameters
nvunset — Clears non-volatile parameter

Options

variable: A non-volatile variable name
value: Value to set variable to

Description

Sets a non-volatile variable to a given value. The same effect can be achieved by simply setting the shell variable appropriately. The value is usually free form text for general options, for boolean values the values “on” and “off” are used (true/false and 0/1 may also be used)

Example 64. Using the nvset command and shell method to alter a non-volatile variables

>nvshow fb.enable
fb.enable  = on
>nvset fb.enable off
>nvshow fb.enable
fb.enable  = off
>fb.enable=on
>nvshow fb.enable
fb.enable  = on
>fb.enable=false
>nvshow fb.enable
fb.enable  = off
>nvset fb.enable true
>nvshow fb.enable
fb.enable  = on
>

Name

nvshow — Show non-volatile parameters

Synopsis

nvshow [variable]

Options

variable: non-volatile variable name

Description

This command shows the current settings of the non-volatile variables. If the variable is omitted a complete list is shown, otherwise only the specified variable is shown. Single non-volatile settings are also available as variables in the shell, because a full stop is ambiguous within a variable name the required non-volatile setting must be placed within curly braces.

Example 65. Using the nvshow command

>nvshow
hist (is unset)
boot.fs (is unset)
boot.auto  = off
boot.cmd  = (hd0)/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.13-simtec1 root=/dev/hdc1 console=ttySAC0,110
boot.timeout (is unset)
ide.multi-limit (is unset)
usb.hubdepth (is unset)
usb.enable (is unset)
console.level (is unset)
console.write (is unset)
console.read (is unset)
fb.enable  = on
fb.output (is unset)
fb.refresh (is unset)
fb.y (is unset)
fb.x (is unset)
sys.autoshadow (is unset)
sys.speed (is unset)
>nvshow fb.enable
fb.enable  = on
>echo ${fb.enable}
on
>

Name

nvunset — Clears non-volatile parameter

Synopsis

nvunset {variable}

Options

variable: A non-volatile variable name

Description

Unsets a non-volatile variable so the default value will be used.

OS manipulation commands

These are the commands to start and manipulate loaded executable images entries and are available from the shell command line of ABLE from version 1.55 and later.

Table of Contents

boot — Starts loaded OS images
load — Load executable images
showargs — Shows arguments to be passed to any booted OS
setargs — Sets arguments to be passed to an OS started with the boot command

Name

boot — Starts loaded OS images

Synopsis

boot [--help] [--version]

Options

--help: Display short help message and exit
--version: Display the version of the boot command and exit

Description

This command starts execution of a previously loaded OS image. Its operation is fully described in Chapter 6, Starting an Operating System Manually. The arguments passed to the image are set with the setargs command.

Example 66. Using the boot command

>boot
boot: an image must be loaded with the load command first
>load (tftpboot)batty
tftp: attempting bootp
bootp: sending request
bootp: serverip: 192.168.7.1
bootp: netmask: 255.255.255.0
bootp: serverip: 192.168.7.1
bootp: netmask: 255.255.255.0
bootp: address: 192.168.7.29
>boot
Simtec Board Test Tool, Version 0.23
(c) 2005 Simtec Electronics

EB2410ITX (BAST) Test Suite
...

Name

load — Load executable images

Synopsis

load {file...}

Options

file: File paths to load

Description

This command is used to load OS files which can be started using the boot command. The way a file is loaded is determined by the files type. The file type is found using the internal detection code. The type of a file may be examined using the file command.

The Chapter 6, Starting an Operating System Manually provides a complete description of this commands operation.

Name

showargs — Shows arguments to be passed to any booted OS

Synopsis

showargs

Description

Shows arguments to be passed to an OS started with the boot command.

Example 67. Using the showargs command

>showargs
BOOTARGS=root=/dev/hda3
>

Name

setargs — Sets arguments to be passed to an OS started with the boot command

Synopsis

setargs {arguments...}

Options

arguments: Arguments to be passed to OS

Description

Sets arguments to be passed to an OS started with the boot command.

Example 68. Using the setargs command

>showargs
BOOTARGS=root=/dev/hda3
>setargs root=/dev/hdc1 console=ttySAC0,115200
>showargs
BOOTARGS='root=/dev/hdc1 console=ttySAC0,115200'
>

Debugging commands

These are commands used to debug issues with ABLE and manipulating specific system functions. Some of these commands may not be available in all configurations and platforms.

Table of Contents

bast-at — Perform an audio test.
bast-at2 — Perform BAST audio test copies the line in to the line out
bast-hdlcd — Manipulate an HD44780 attached to the EB2410ITX LCD Module port.
dmcfg-rd — Debug command to read Davicom EEPROM
dmcfg-wr — Debug command to write Davicom EEPROM
dump — Displays an area of memory in hex dump
memset — Set range of memory to a specific value.
peek — Examine memory location
pic-rd — Read a value to the PMU PIC
pic-wr — Write a value to the PMU PIC
poke — Poke memory location
tick — Check system timing.
vtp1 — Video test pattern
vtp2 — Video test pattern
vtp3 — Video test pattern
vtp4 — Video test pattern
vtp5 — Video test pattern

Name

bast-at — Perform an audio test.

Synopsis

bast-at [scale]

Options

scale: Volume between 0 (off) and 16 (full)

Description

Use to display the contents of a memory area in a hex dump. The output will be put through a pager and can be aborted with q.

Example 69. Using the dump command to examine memory

This example shows the dump command being used to display the first 4KB of memory. The output is aborted with q after the first page.

>dump 0 1000
00000000: e59ff034 e59ff014 e59ff014 e59ff014 : 4...............
00000010: e59ff014 e59ff014 e59ff014 e59ff014 : ................
00000020: f004458c f00410fc f00444d4 f004441c : .E.......D...D..
00000030: 00000000 f004464c 00000000 f0004008 : ....LF.......@..
00000040: ffffffff ffff7fff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
00000050: ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
00000060: ffdfffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
00000070: dfffffff ffffffff ffffffbf ffffffff : ................
00000080: 7fffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
00000090: ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff dfffffff : ................
000000a0: ffffffdf ffffffff dfffffff ffffffff : ................
000000b0: ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
000000c0: ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
000000d0: ffffffff fff7ffff ffffffff 7fffffff : ................
000000e0: ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
000000f0: ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffdf : ................
00000100: ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
00000110: ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
00000120: ffffffff ffffdfff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
00000130: ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff : ................
--MORE--
>

Name

memset — Set range of memory to a specific value.

Synopsis

memset {address} {length} [value]

Options

address: Start address of memory to set in hex
length: Length of area to set in hex
value: Value to set memory region to in hex (defaults to 0 if unspecified)

Description

This command alters an area of memory starting at address and spanning the specified length to the specified value. The address specified is dependant on the machine architecture and is the translated by the MMU.

Name

peek — Examine memory location

Synopsis

peek [[p] | [v]] [[b] | [h] | [w]] [rpt {count}] [--help] [--version] {address}

Options

p: Interpret address as physical.
v: Interpret address as virtual (the default if not specified).
b: Byte (8bit) wide read.
h: Half word (16bit) wide read.
w: Word (32bit) wide read (default if not specified).
rpt count: Repeats the read count times.
address: Memory address to read in hexadecimal.

Description

This command retrieves a memory location and prints it in hexadecimal. The address specified is dependant on the machine architecture and is the translated by the MMU.

The p option causes the physical address specified to be translated into a virtual address suitable for use within ABLE, the virtual translated address is shown during display.

Name

pic-rd — Read a value to the PMU PIC

Synopsis

pic-rd {register}

Options

register: Register to read from

Description

Debug command to directly read value from PMU registers.

Name

pic-wr — Write a value to the PMU PIC

Synopsis

pic-wr {register} {value}

Options

register: Register to set
value: Value to write into register

Description

Debug command to put values directly into the PMU registers.

Name

poke — Poke memory location

Synopsis

poke [[p] | [v]] [[b] | [h] | [w]] [[eor] | [orr] | [bic] | [set]] [rpt {count}] {address} {value}

Options

p: Interpret memory address as physical location.
v: Interpret address as virtual (the default if not specified).
b: Byte (8bit) wide read.
h: Half word (16bit) wide read.
w: Word (32bit) wide read (default if not specified).
eor: Exclusive or the value with the current contents of memory.
orr: Or the value with the current contents of memory.
bic: Clear the bits of the memory location which are set in value.
set: Alter the memory to the value.
rpt count: Repeats the read count times.
address: Memory address to read in hexadecimal.
value: Value to set in hexadecimal.

Description

This command alters a memory location to the specified value. The address specified is dependant on the machine architecture and is the translated by the MMU.

The p option causes the physical address specified to be translated into a virtual address suitable for use within ABLE, the virtual translated address is shown.

Name

tick — Check system timing.

Synopsis

tick

Description

Outputs a dot once a second until one of q or e is pressed. This is used to verify system timing.

Name

vtp1 — Video test pattern

Synopsis

vtp1

Description

Video test pattern, filling the whole of the screen with the following pattern. Left hand side 8 pixel vertical red bar. Right hand side with 8 pixel green bar. The rest of the screen is an stipple pattern of white and black single pixels.

This command will not be available if the frame buffer is disabled.

Figure 8. Video test pattern 1

Name

vtp2 — Video test pattern

Synopsis

vtp2

Video test pattern, filling the whole of the screen with the following pattern. Left hand side is a vertical blue bar, 8 pixels wide, with red single line at the top. The right hand side is green. The right hand side is a vertical green bar, 8 pixels wide, with a blue cap on the top line. The rest of the screen is an alternating 8x8 white and black block pattern

This command will not be available if the frame buffer is disabled.

Figure 12. Video test pattern 5

Part III. Non-Volatile Variables Reference

Part III shows the available non-volatile variables.

These nvram variables are available and usable in ABLE version 2.20 or later. Any variables which are not available on all platforms will be marked as such in their description section.

Each variable is documented in a format similar to the UNIX® manual page layout. The page is separated into several parts:

Name - The name of the variable and its purpose.

Description - Describes the variable in detail.

Platforms - This optional section describes the platforms which use the variable is present, if not present the variable is available on all platforms.

See also - This optional section gives references to other variables which may be relevant.

Table 9. Alphabetical list of non-volatile variables

Variable	Purpose
boot.auto	Enable auto boot
boot.cmd	Command line to use for auto boot
boot.timeout	Time to wait before auto boot
boot.fs	The filesystems to be scanned by the autoboot command.
console.write	Default Console output stream
console.read	Default Console input stream
console.level	Console logging level
fb.enable	Framebuffer driver - enable output
fb.output	Framebuffer driver - output target
fb.x	Framebuffer driver - Display X size (width)
fb.y	Framebuffer driver - Display Y size (height)
fb.refresh	Framebuffer driver - Display refresh frequency
ide.multi-limit	IDE multiple sector read limit
shell.hist	Shell history depth
sys.autoshadow	Whether able will automatically moved into RAM at system start
sys.speed	System speed set at start time
usb.enable	USB system enable
usb.hubdepth	USB system depth hubs should be searched for devices to

Table of Contents

boot.auto — Enable auto boot
boot.cmd — Command line to use for auto boot
boot.timeout — Time to wait before auto boot
boot.fs — The filesystems to be scanned by the autoboot command.
console.write — Default Console output stream
console.read — Default Console input stream
console.level — Console logging level
fb.enable — Framebuffer driver - enable output
fb.output — Framebuffer driver - output target
fb.x — Framebuffer driver - Display X size (width)
fb.y — Framebuffer driver - Display Y size (height)
fb.refresh — Framebuffer driver - Display refresh frequency
ide.multi-limit — IDE multiple sector read limit
shell.hist — Shell history depth
sys.autoshadow — Determines if ABLE will automatically moved into RAM at system start
sys.speed — System speed set at start time
usb.enable — USB system enable
usb.hubdepth — USB system depth hubs should be searched for devices to

There are three console drivers available on every platform, the null driver which redirects all ABLE output nowhere so it is not seen, the all-wr driver which sends all console output to any console driver capable of displaying it and the serial driver which sends output to the console serial port (typically the first serial port on a system).

Full details on controlling the console system can be found in Chapter 5, ABLE Console.

The default, where no nvram variable is set, on all platforms since ABLE version 1.79 is the all-wr target.

Warning

This Variable has been renamed in ABLE versions 2.20 and later. In previous versions the variable was was called "cons_write".

Platforms

EB2410ITX additional valid value is s3c2410x-video

EB110ATX additional valid value is vga

EB7500ATX additional valid value is vidc

Name

console.read — Default Console input stream

Description

Determines where console input will come from. See console.write for details on setting the write stream.

There are three console drivers available on every platform, the null driver which produces no input so no buttons can be pressed, the all-rd driver which accepts input from any console driver capable of producing it and the serial driver which accepts input from the console serial port (typically the first serial port on a system).

The default, where no nvram variable is set, on all platforms since ABLE version 1.79 is the all-rd target.

Warning

This Variable has been renamed in ABLE versions 2.20 and later. In previous versions the variable was called "cons_read".

Platforms

EB2410ITX additional valid value is usbkbd.

IM2440D20 additional valid value is usbkbd.

EB110ATX additional valid value is ps2kbd

EB7500ATX additional valid value is ps2kbd

Name

console.level — Console logging level

Description

Sets the default console logging level. This can be altered after boot with console command.

Name

fb.enable — Framebuffer driver - enable output

Description

If set, the framebuffer device driver will be enabled and added to the list of selectable consoles. If clear, then the framebuffer driver will not be initialised, and video console will not be selectable.

Platforms

Platforms

EB2410ITX numerous settings possible the default is 203MHz for the S3C2410-A20 and 266MHz for the S3C2410-A26.

IM2440D20 numerous settings possible the default is 400MHz for the S3C2440-A40.

Name

usb.enable — USB system enable

Description

This determines if the USB subsystem is enabled. This allows USB devices to be used, required for the USB hid keyboard driver.

Platforms

EB2410ITX default is on

IM2440D20 default is on

Name

usb.hubdepth — USB system depth hubs should be searched for devices to

Description

This determines how many hubs the USB system will scan looking for usable peripherals.

Platforms

EB2410ITX

IM2440D20

Part IV. Appendices

Table of Contents

A. Changelog

Appendix A. Changelog

Revision History

Revision 1.00

24th January 2003

VRS

Initial Release.

Revision 1.40

3rd February 2003

VRS

Updates to non volatile commands, addition of version command.

Revision 1.55

25th April

VRS

Improved command references in Core Commands.

Added Chapter 4, Setting Options to clarify non volatile usage.

Revision 1.73

17th September

VRS

Improved Chapter 9, Upgrading.

Revision 1.80

18th November

VRS

Updated commands .

Updated Part III, “Non-Volatile Variables Reference”.

Updated FAQ.

Revision 1.82

27th November

VRS

Updated commands .

Updated Part III, “Non-Volatile Variables Reference”.

Updated FAQ.

Revision 1.95

10th March 2004

VRS

Updated devls.

Updated Part III, “Non-Volatile Variables Reference”.

Removed FAQ future versions are online.

Revision 1.99

2nd August 2004

VRS

Added echo.

Updated Part III, “Non-Volatile Variables Reference”.

Revision 2.01

11th October 2004

VRS

Updated netif command.

Added ifconfig.

Updated Chapter 6, Starting an Operating System Manually

Revision 2.08

13th April 2005

VRS

Added Chapter 2, Getting Started, Chapter 7, Starting an Operating System Automatically, Chapter 8, Networking

Updated Chapter 1, Overview, Chapter 3, Command Line Interface, Chapter 6, Starting an Operating System Manually

Added boot.fs

Revision 2.20

17th January 2006

VRS

The ABLE 2.20 release is a significant milestone release which represents a greater expansion in capabilities than many previous releases.

Updated to refer to ABLE version 2.20

Updated Chapter 2, Getting Started

Updated Chapter 3, Command Line Interface

Created Chapter 5, ABLE Console

Removed separate script chapter and moved contents into Chapter 3, Command Line Interface

Updated Part II, “Command Reference”

Updated Part III, “Non-Volatile Variables Reference”.

Created Appendix A, Changelog.

Revision 2.21

23rd February 2006

VRS

Minor editorial changes

Revision 2.22

21st March 2006

VRS

Updated to refer to ABLE version 2.21

Updated Chapter 6, Starting an Operating System Manually

Updated Part III, “Non-Volatile Variables Reference”

Updated Part II, “Command Reference”

Revision 2.23

30th April 2006

VRS

Updated to refer to ABLE version 2.22

Updated Chapter 3, Command Line Interface

Revision 2.24

3rd June 2006

VRS

This version is the first edition of the printed book.

Updated to refer to ABLE version 2.24

Updated Chapter 6, Starting an Operating System Manually

Updated Chapter 7, Starting an Operating System Automatically

Index

A

ABLE executable, ABLE executable, Upgrading
Advanced Technology Attachment (see ATA)
Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface (see ATAPI)
AOUT, ELF and AOUT files
ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment), Data sources
ATAPI (Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface), Data sources

B

batty, ABLE executable
BIOS, Overview

C

command

autoboot, autoboot
bast-at, bast-at
bast-at2, bast-at2
bast-hdlcd, bast-hdlcd
boot, The "setargs, load and boot" method, boot
cat, Images, text and data files, cat
cd, Filesystem navigation, Navigating a filesystem, cd
console, Console drivers, Configuring the console system, Setting the logging level, console
cp, cp
date, date
devls, devls
display, Images, text and data files, display
dmcfg-rd, dmcfg-rd
dmcfg-wr, dmcfg-wr
dump, dump
dumpfile, Images, text and data files, dumpfile
echo, echo
exit, exit
file, Filesystem navigation, Navigating a filesystem, How ABLE identifies files., file
help, ABLE help system, help
history, history
hwinfo, Using the network to obtain files, hwinfo
ifconfig, Finding a network interface, ifconfig
load, The "setargs, load and boot" method, load
ls, Filesystem navigation, Navigating a filesystem, ls
lsfs, Filesystem navigation, lsfs
man, man
meminfo, meminfo
memset, memset
mii, mii
modules, modules
nvclear, Setting Options, nvclear
nvsave, Non volatile variables, Setting Options, nvsave
nvset, Non volatile variables, Setting Options, nvset
nvshow, Setting Options, nvshow
nvunset, nvunset
peek, peek
pic-rd, pic-rd
pic-wr, pic-wr
pmu, pmu
poke, poke
pwd, Filesystem navigation, pwd
read, read
reset, reset
sbcd, sbcd
setargs, The "setargs, load and boot" method, setargs
setdate, setdate
setopt, Console drivers, setopt
settime, settime
sh, sh
shadow, shadow
showargs, showargs
showhz, showhz
sleep, sleep
sum, sum
sysmsg, Setting the logging level, sysmsg
sysspeed, sysspeed
tasks, tasks
test, Conditional execution, Shell script, test
tick, tick
uname, ABLE help system, uname
version, version
vtp1, vtp1
vtp2, vtp2
vtp3, vtp3
vtp4, vtp4
vtp5, vtp5
wrout, wrout

command line interface, Overview, Command Line Interface

conditionals, Conditional execution

editing, Command line editing

filesystem, Filesystem navigation

help, ABLE help system

quoting, Quoting

variables, Shell variables

accessing, Accessing variables
non-volatile (see non-volatile variables)
positional, Positional variables, Accessing variables
simple, Simple variables
special, Special variables
special meaning, Variables with special meanings

Compress file, UNIX® Compress files

console, Getting Started

G

Gzip file, Gzip files

H

Hyperterm, Using hyperterm as a serial console

I

IDE (see ATA)
Integrated Drive Electronics (see ATA)
Internet Protocol (see IP)
IP (Internet Protocol), Networking, ifconfig
ISO9660, Alias sources

L

Linux, ELF and AOUT files

M

Minicom, Using minicom as a serial console
modular system, Overview
modules, Overview, Getting Started

N

NetBSD, ELF and AOUT files

non-volatile variables, Non volatile variables

boot, Getting Started

auto, boot.auto
cmd, No console at all, Displaying a logo and boot abort, boot.cmd
fs, boot.fs
timeout, boot.timeout

console

level, Setting the logging level, Displaying a logo and boot abort, console, console.level
read, Getting Started, Configuring the console system, No console at all, console, console.read
write, Getting Started, Configuring the console system, No console at all, console, console.write

fb

enable, fb.enable
output, fb.output
refresh, fb.refresh
x, fb.x
y, fb.y

ide

multi-limit, ide.multi-limit

shell

hist, shell.hist

sys

autoshadow, sys.autoshadow
speed, sys.speed

usb

enable, usb.enable
hubdepth, usb.hubdepth

O

OpenBSD, ELF and AOUT files
operating system, Overview, Starting an Operating System Manually

P

PCI, Networking
PPP (Point to Point Protocol), Networking

R

reset, Running the upgrade, reset

hard, Getting Started

romwrite, ABLE executable, Upgrading, Running the upgrade

S

S-Record, Motorola S-Record
Shell script, Shell script, ABLE shell script
SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol), Networking

T

TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol), Network sources, Networking, Configuring a network interface, Using the network to obtain files, Loading the Upgrade

U

UDP (User Datagram Protocol), Networking
Universal Serial Bus (see USB)
USB (Universal Serial Bus), Getting Started, Console drivers, Data sources
User Datagram Protocol (see UDP)

X

XModem, XModem source, Networking

Z

zImage, How ABLE identifies files.

Colophon

This Document was prepared in Docbook XML using the GNU emacs text editor. The source was combined with DocBook XSL Stylesheets using an XSLT processor to produce output in various formats.

For web output the Saxon XSLT processor was used to convert the docbook XML directly to HTML.

For print output the Saxon XSLT processor was used to convert the docbook XML to Formatting Objects (FO) XML.

For general print documents the FO XML is converted to PDF and Postscript with the Apache project FOP utility.

For six by nine inch book output the Render X XEP digital typography tool was used to convert the FO XML to print ready PDF output.

The cover designs were developed in the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP).

ABLE FIS User Guide

Simtec Electronics

B D

V S

All other trademarks are acknowledged.

Revision History
Revision 1.00	16th January 2004	VRS
Initial Release.
Revision 1.01	15th April 2005	VRS
Fix formatting errors.

Table of Contents