zephyr/doc/getting_started/toolchain_other_x_compilers.rst
Marti Bolivar 5edb6d5def doc: unify documentation on setting environment variables
There are a few different places where alternatives for setting
environment variables are described. None of them is 100% complete, so
the results are likely to be confusing.

Make a single page on setting environment variables, how the zephyrrc
files work, how the zephyr-env scripts work, and some of the important
environment variables, with appropriate references elsewhere. (This is
inspired by the Arch wiki's excellent page on installing programs.)

Link to it from the getting started and application development pages
instead of repeating the information. This has the benefit of
shortening the getting started guide a bit more.

Add some concrete advice on checking the toolchain environment
variables in particular. This is a stumbling block for beginners.

Signed-off-by: Marti Bolivar <marti.bolivar@nordicsemi.no>
2019-06-14 14:19:09 -04:00

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.. _other_x_compilers:
Other Cross Compilers
######################
This toolchain variant is borrowed from the Linux kernel build system's
mechanism of using a :envvar:`CROSS_COMPILE` environment variable to set up a
GNU-based cross toolchain.
Examples of such "other cross compilers" are cross toolchains that your Linux
distribution packaged, that you compiled on your own, or that you downloaded
from the net. Unlike toolchains specifically listed in
:ref:`third_party_x_compilers`, the Zephyr build system may not have been
tested with them, and doesn't officially support them. (Nonetheless, the
toolchain set-up mechanism itself is supported.)
Follow these steps to use one of these toolchains.
#. Install a cross compiler suitable for your host and target systems.
For example, you might install the ``gcc-arm-none-eabi`` package on
Debian-based Linux systems, or ``arm-none-eabi-newlib`` on Fedora or Red
Hat:
.. code-block:: console
# On Debian or Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install gcc-arm-none-eabi
# On Fedora or Red Hat
sudo dnf install arm-none-eabi-newlib
#. :ref:`Set these environment variables <env_vars>`:
- Set :envvar:`ZEPHYR_TOOLCHAIN_VARIANT` to ``cross-compile``.
- Set :envvar:`CROSS_COMPILE` to the common path prefix which your
toolchain's binaries have, e.g. the path to the directory containing the
compiler binaries plus the target triplet and trailing dash.
#. To check that you have set these variables correctly in your current
environment, follow these example shell sessions (the
:envvar:`CROSS_COMPILE` value may be different on your system):
.. code-block:: console
# Linux, macOS:
$ echo $ZEPHYR_TOOLCHAIN_VARIANT
cross-compile
$ echo $CROSS_COMPILE
/usr/bin/arm-none-eabi-
You can also set ``CROSS_COMPILE`` as a CMake variable.
When using this option, all of your toolchain binaries must reside in the same
directory and have a common file name prefix. The ``CROSS_COMPILE`` variable
is set to the directory concatenated with the file name prefix. In the Debian
example above, the ``gcc-arm-none-eabi`` package installs binaries such as
``arm-none-eabi-gcc`` and ``arm-none-eabi-ld`` in directory ``/usr/bin/``, so
the common prefix is ``/usr/bin/arm-none-eabi-`` (including the trailing dash,
``-``). If your toolchain is installed in ``/opt/mytoolchain/bin`` with binary
names based on target triplet ``myarch-none-elf``, ``CROSS_COMPILE`` would be
set to ``/opt/mytoolchain/bin/myarch-none-elf-``.