Select an Existing BSP (Compact 7)
3/12/2014
Cloning an existing BSP is the easiest way to develop a BSP for a new piece of hardware even if you make extensive modifications to the code. Choose a BSP that uses a CPU from the same CPU architecture as the one on your device and has a hardware platform that best approximates the characteristics of the device you are working with.
Important
Choosing which BSP to start with is an important step, so be sure to carefully consider how well the features (such as the system timer, real-time clock (RTC), cache, and so on) of your device match those of the reference BSP’s device.
You can:
- Select a BSP provided by Microsoft.
- Import a BSP from a third party.
- Migrate a BSP from a previous version of Windows Embedded Compact.
Select a BSP Provided by Microsoft
Windows Embedded Compact 7 provides several reference BSPs that support the ARM, MIPS, and x86 CPU architectures. When you install Platform Builder, you can choose which CPU architectures to install. You can then choose which BSP to use for your OS design when you step through Platform Builder’s OS Design Wizard. (If you did not install any BSPs, you can reinstall Platform Builder.) To help you decide which reference BSP to clone, see the reference documentation on Board Support Package (BSP) for a list of the hardware platform characteristics for each of the reference BSPs.
Platform Builder also provides a BSP template that you can use with different CPU architectures. The template can be very helpful when you are learning about the mandatory and optional APIs for a specific CPU architecture. However, because the APIs are not implemented, starting from a BSP template is usually more time-consuming than adapting a cloned implemented BSP.
Implementing a BSP by starting only with a template is outside the scope of this article, but for learning purposes you can select a BSP template in the OS Design Wizard by choosing BSPTemplate:<CPU Architecture>, where <CPU Architecture> is ARMv5, ARMv6, ARMv7, MIPSII, MIPSII_FP, or x86. The BSP template directories also contain tutorials for learning about the different parts of the BSP.
Import a BSP from a Third Party
Several independent hardware vendors have developed Windows Embedded Compact BSPs. You can find a list of BSPs at Find Board Support Packages. The BSP provider will typically instruct you on how to install the BSP. Often, installation is performed using a Microsoft Installer Package (MSI).
Migrate a BSP from a Previous Version of Windows Embedded Compact
If you want to start with a BSP from an earlier version of Windows Embedded Compact, we recommend that you first migrate it to Windows Embedded Compact 7 before cloning it. For instructions on porting a Windows CE 5.0 or Windows Embedded CE 6.0 BSP to Windows Embedded Compact 7, see BSP Porting Guide for Windows Embedded Compact 7.