Developing a Board Support Package (Windows CE 5.0)
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 CE 5.0.
Third-party BSPs are also available for different versions of Windows CE. For more information, see this Microsoft Web site. For information about the processors that are supported by Windows CE, 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. - How to Create a Board Support Package
Explains the process of creating a BSP, including developing a boot loader, an OAL, and device drivers. - 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.
Related Sections
- Supported Board Support Packages
Describes, in detail, the BSPs provided in Microsoft® Platform Builder and the process of building and installing run-time image for each BSP. - Migrating a Board Support Package
Provides an overview about BSP migration and links to topics that discuss the BSP migration process. - 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. - How to Bring Up a Hardware Platform by Creating a New BSP
Describes the process of developing the hardware platform code necessary to initialize a run-time image on your target device from the beginning. - How to Bring Up a Hardware Platform by Cloning an Existing BSP
Describes the steps involved in bringing up your device by using Platform Builder to clone an existing BSP. - Developing a Device Driver
Offers an overview of Windows CE drivers and describes the typical processes used for developing device drivers for a Windows CE-based device. - Debugging and Testing
Provides information about debugging and testing the Windows CE OS on a hardware platform.
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