Build System

The build system is the system logic by which Microsoft® Platform Builder enables you to develop an OS image for a target device. You use the build system during the platform development process. The platform development process contains several steps you must complete, either with the Platform Builder integrated development environment (IDE), or from a command prompt window.

The first step that you take in the platform development process is to create a workspace, which is a container for holding files that make up a project or platform. For more information about workspaces, see Workspaces. For more information about creating a platform, see How to Use the IDE to Create, Customize, and Build a Platform. For information about creating projects, see Project Creation.

Once you have created your platform and your workspace, you can customize your platform by adding or removing features and drivers, and by setting or unsetting environment variables. You can also select a different build configuration for your platform, depending on your needs.

The final step in the platform development process is called the build process, in which you build an OS image that you can then download to a target device. In the IDE, the build process consists of four distinct build phases, in the following sequence: the Sysgen phase, Feature Build phase, Release Copy phase, and the Make Image phase. If you are building from the command-line, the Feature Build phase will not occur, as it builds files and features that are specific to the IDE. For more information, see Build Phases.

The following list shows the major aspects of the platform development process:

• Workspace Creation
• Feature Management
• Platform Building
• Build Configurations
• Environment Variables

See Also

Platform Creation | Project Management | Platform Downloading

 Last updated on Friday, October 08, 2004

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