libreboot/BUILD_HOWTO

Paper Build System
==================

Entry Point
-----------

The entry point for using the paper build system is the main script in the root
directory, named after the build system (paper, libreboot, etc).
Running the main script with no argument will show its general usage.

Configuration
-------------

The paper build system can be configured with a script named after the build
system (paper, libreboot, etc) with a ".conf" suffix. It is automatically loaded
by the build system when running the main script.

It contains environment variables assigned to the desired values. The list of
environment variables is shown in the main script's general usage.

Project and Tool Targets
------------------------

The build system works around the concepts of projects and tools, that define
specific components that can be used to produce either:
* sources
* systems
* images
* tools

Various actions are available for each project and tool targets, many of which
are shown in the main script's general usage. Each project and tool may provide
a usage action that allows to see the specific usage for it. Actions are
executed recursively when no targets are specified.

Each project and tool target has its own directory (either in projects or tools)
that contain a script named after the target and possible a helper script, named
after the script with a "-helper" suffix. The helper script is automatically
included by the build system. Functions in helper scripts are usually prefixed
with the name of the target, where "-" symbols are replaced with "_" symbols.

Each project and tool target's actions are functions defined in the target's
specific script, with names matching the target's actions.

Meta-Targets
------------

Meta targets are project and tool targets that apply the requested action to
individual targets, allowing to execute an action to many targets at once.
For instance, a meta-target named after the build system with a "-all" suffix
would call other meta-targets, prefixed with "-images", "-tools", etc that would
then perform the requested action to all underlying targets.

Projects Actions
----------------

Various generic actions allow preparing projects through a series of steps:
* downloading, extracting or updating the project's sources
* building the project to a build directory
* installing the project to an install directory
* releasing the project to a release directory
* cleaning the build, install and release directories

Actions can be checked by a matching project-specific function, named after the
function to check with a "_check" suffix, to determine whether it is necessary
to run them again to follow the steps. An environment variable can force actions
to be executed, by specifying a space-separated list of projects:
PROJECTS_FORCE.

Projects Configuration and Patches
----------------------------------

Configuration for each project is stored in each project's own directory.
Targets for each project are defined with a "targets" file in each directory
of the "configs" directory. Targets are read recursively, following
sub-directory names for project targets.

Each project's configuration directory can be used to hold target-specific
information and configuration.

An "install" file in each sub-directory indicated which files to grab from the
build files and where to install them in the install directory.

Projects Sources
----------------

Each project can either download specific sources or use another project's
sources, possibly providing its own revision and patches.

Sources are downloaded with the "download" action or can be extracted from
released sources (after placing the sources in the sources directory) with the
"extract" action.

Projects may also keep their sources in a "sources" directory in their
project-specific directory.

Projects Build
--------------

Each project is built to a build directory, named after the project, with the
list of targets separated by a "-" symbol.

An environment variable allows controlling the number of tasks to run at the
same time: TASKS.

Projects Install
----------------

Projects are installed from "install" files in the project directory, that
copies the selected built files to the install directory, named after the
project, with the list of targets separated by a "-" symbol. These install files
are read recursively, following sub-directory names for project targets.

Additional files to install can be specified in the "install" directory and
described in an "install" file. These install files are read recursively,
following sub-directory names for project targets.

Projects Release
----------------

Projects are released to a release directory, named after the project, with the
list of targets separated by a "-" symbol. Each project's install files are
packed into a tarball to the corresponding release directory. A checksum and a
GPG detached signature (if the RELEASE_KEY environment variable is set) are also
generated.

Tarballs are generated reproducibly, from a list of files stored in the
".tarfiles" file. They may also contain the ".epoch", git ".revision" and
".version" files.

Tools Actions
-------------

Tools are used for maintaining the build system, for performing routine tasks
that can be automated. They may have specific actions and not implement any of
the generic actions.

Actions can be checked by a matching tool-specific function, named after the
function to check with a "_check" suffix, to determine whether it is necessary
to run them again to follow the steps. An environment variable can force actions
to be executed, by specifying a space-separated list of tasks: TASKS_FORCE.

Tools Sources
-------------

Tools may keep their sources in a "sources" directory in their tool-specific
directory. These sources may be updated with the "update" action.