Package feeds
As we discussed in Chapter 4, Grasping the BitBake Tool, packages play a central role, as images and SDKs rely on them. In fact, do_rootfs
makes use of a local package repository to fetch the binary packages when generating the root filesystem. This repository is generally known as a package feed.
There is no reason for this repository to be used just for the images or SDK build steps. In fact, there are several valid reasons for making this repository remotely accessible internally in our development environment or publicly for use in the field. Some of these reasons are listed, including the following:
- Easily testing an updated application during development stage, without the need of a complete system re-installation
- Make additional packages more flexible so that they can be installed in a running image
- Update products in the field
To produce a solid package feed, we must ensure that we have consistent increments in the package revision every time the package is changed. It is...