Developing a Board Support Package

Other versions of this page are also available for the following:

Windows Mobile Not SupportedWindows Embedded CE Supported

8/27/2008

A board support package (BSP) is the common name for all board hardware-specific code. It typically consists of the following:

  • The boot loader
  • The OEM adaptation layer (OAL)
  • Board-specific device drivers

The BSP creation process involves the following tasks:

  • Developing a boot loader
  • Developing an OAL
  • Creating device drivers
  • Modifying run-time image configuration files

If you do not have a BSP, you can create a new one or clone an existing BSP that is designed for similar hardware.

If you have an existing BSP, you can migrate or update it to be fully compatible with the features in Windows Embedded CE 6.0.

Third-party BSPs are also available for different versions of Windows Embedded CE. For more information, see this Microsoft Web site. For information about the processors that are supported by CE 6.0, see this Microsoft Web site.

In This Section

  • Board Support Package Overview
    Provides information about the elements contained in a BSP: boot loader, OAL, device drivers, and run-time image configuration files.
  • Developing a Boot Loader
    Provides an overview about boot loaders and contains links to topics that discuss the following: an in-depth overview of a boot loader, the boot loader development process, and a reference section for boot loader programming elements.
  • Developing an OEM Adaptation Layer
    Provides an overview about the OAL and contains links to topics that discuss the following: an in-depth overview of the OAL, the OAL development process, and a reference section for the OAL programming elements.
  • Standard Development Board Design
    Provides an overview about standard development boards (SDBs) and a pointer to the Standard Development Board Specification, which defines the form factors and hardware functionality required to develop and test your hardware platform using Windows CE 3.0 and later.
  • Developing a Device Driver
    Offers an overview of Windows Embedded CE drivers and describes the typical processes used for developing device drivers for a Windows Embedded CE-based device.