An automated Linux distribution building system has added support for two interesting modern processor architectures targeting multimedia-enabled consumer electronics devices. T2 SDE (system development environment) rc7.0 adds support for Atmel's AVR32 architecture, and for the ADI (Analog Devices Inc.) Blackfin processor architecture.

T2 comprises an architecture-specific toolchain and a sandbox in which complete, custom Linux distributions and even installation CDs can be compiled and assembled from about 2,000 source packages. In theory, any architecture for which a GNU toolchain exists could be supported, with testing and fine-tuning, it appears.

T2 comes standard with 10 pre-defined targets, ranging from live CDs to special-purpose router distributions to full Gnome- and KDE-based desktops. Generic and embedded targets could offer starting points for custom Linux device implementations.

Additionally, T2 targets are available for several esoteric hardware platforms, including the Sony PlayStation3, Psion sub-notebooks, LinkSys WRT-series routers, Archivista backup devices, and soon, Sega Dreamcast gaming devices.

The new 7.0 release of T2 SDE is codenamed “water falls,” and is available now in rc (release candidate) form. It boasts about 400 new packages, along with updates to most older ones; component packages are listed here.

Also new in the 7.0 release are:

• Support for Atmel's ultra-efficient AVR32 architecture, said to have been built from the outset for high efficiency
• Support for ADI's Blackfin DSP architecture, based on the Micro Signal Architecture (MSA) jointly developed by Intel and ADI

Both ports were contributed by ExactCode, an R&D company based in Berlin, Germany.

T2's support for the AVR32 architecture was announced back in March, and billed as the AVR32's first Linux distribution support. At the time, ExactCode principal Rene Rebe noted that T2-generated binaries utilize 30 percent of the cycles on Atmel's 140MHz STK1000 reference board, when playing MP3 files in real time.

Availability

Release 7.0 of the T2 SDE is available now, in binary CD form, or directly from subversion. More details can be found on the project website, here.

The T2 tools were recently featured in an ultra-low-cost ($70) network gateway development kit based on an Atmel's AT32AP7000, the first SoC (system-on-chip) with an AVR32 core. Additionally, Atmel on June 4 announced the AT32AP7001, its second AVR32-based SoC.

Other architectures supported by T2 include Alpha, ARM, IA64, HPPA/HPPA64, IA64,
MIPS/MIPS64, PowerPC/PowerPC64, SPARC/SPARC64, SuperH, and x86/x86-64.

 
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