Detailing a layer’s source code

Usually, a layer has a directory tree, as shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 11.2 – The standard layer layout

Inside this directory are two files, <layer>/COPYING and <layer>/README, a license and a message to a user respectively. In <layer>/README, we must specify any other dependency and information that the layer’s users need to know. The meta- prefix for the layer is not a requirement but a commonly used naming convention.

The classes folder should hold the classes specific to that layer (the .bbclass files). It is an optional directory.

The <layer>/conf folder is mandatory and should provide the configuration files (the .conf files). The layer configuration file, <layer>/conf/layer.conf, which will be covered in detail in the next chapter, is the file with the layer definition.

An example of the directory layout of the <layer>/conf folder is shown...