Editing Current Software Specifications

= Software Stack: From First Boot to Full Distribution =

'''Note: This is an initial draft of the software roadmap for the PowerPC Notebook project. At this stage, this is more of brain dump, rather than a polished roadmap. Contributions and comments are welcome.'''

'''Target architecture: PPC64 Big Endian.'''

== Introduction ==

The software stack for the PowerPC Notebook is a critical enabler for the hardware. Our challenge is to bring up a modern, open-source Linux system on non-mainstream architecture (PowerPC), using a custom motherboard based on the NXP T2080 (?) SoC. That means:

* Bootstrapping software from scratch, with limited upstream support
* Building and testing a minimal Linux system to prove hardware works
* Gradually evolving toward a user-friendly, maintainable Linux distribution
We outline a '''progressive roadmap''': from booting the board to building our own distro, using modern infrastructure and tools wherever possible.

== 1. Basic Plan: Booting the First Prototype ==

The first goal is to ensure our hardware can boot into a minimal Linux environment.

=== What Needs to Be Done ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Task !! Description
|- 
| Set up cross toolchain || Use NXP’s PowerPC GCC SDK for T2080
|- 
| Build U-Boot || Start from <code>T2080RDB_defconfig</code>, customize for our board
|- 
| Write Device Tree (DTS) || Tailor the .dts to our motherboard’s peripherals
|- 
| Build kernel || Use NXP's patched or mainline kernel with minimal config
|- 
| Load root filesystem || Use Initramfs, NFS, SD card or TFTP
|- 
| Test via serial console || Use UART for logs and early debugging
|}

=== Why ===

* Validates CPU, memory, and power circuitry
* Enables testing and debugging of other peripherals
* Serves as foundation for OS bring-up and userland development

== 2. Essentials: Proving the Prototype Works ==

Once we can boot, we need a minimal userland to interact with the system.

=== Components Required ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Component !! Functionality
|- 
| U-Boot || Initialize CPU, memory, load kernel
|- 
| Linux kernel || Hardware detection and device drivers
|- 
| Root filesystem || BusyBox or minimal Debian NFS root
|- 
| Serial console || Primary I/O for early interaction
|- 
| Storage access || SD, SATA, or USB (at least one working path)
|- 
| Device tree blob || Custom for motherboard
|}

=== Goal ===

* Boot into a shell prompt
* Validate basic system resources (<code>/proc/cpuinfo</code>, <code>dmesg</code>, etc.)
* Confirm networking, storage, and peripheral availability

== 3. Nice-to-Haves: Editors, Tools, and Utilities ==

Once the system is up, we add tools to support development, testing, and usability.

=== Suggested Additions ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Category !! Tools
|- 
| Editors || nano, vim
|- 
| Networking || curl, wget, ping, ssh
|- 
| Debugging || gdb, strace, perf, valgrind
|- 
| System info || htop, lshw, i2c-tools, lsusb
|- 
| Disk tools || fdisk, parted, e2fsprogs, btrfs-progs
|- 
| Package management || apt, dpkg, or apk (depending on base)
|}

== 4. Distro: Building Our Own PowerPC Linux Distribution ==

Eventually, we want a user-facing Linux distribution specifically optimized for the PowerPC Notebook.

=== Building Blocks ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Component !! Details
|- 
| Base System || Debian PPC64, Gentoo, or Void PPC
|- 
| Kernel || Custom-built with PowerPC Notebook config
|- 
| Init system || systemd or OpenRC
|- 
| Package management || apt (Debian), emerge (Gentoo), xbps (Void)
|- 
| Desktop environment || XFCE, MATE, GNOME (PPC64 builds)
|- 
| Installer || CLI or graphical installer image
|- 
| Update system || apt repos or rsync-based delta updates
|- 
| Branding || Custom themes, logos, powerpcnotebook.org
|}

=== Distro Build Systems to Consider ===

* debootstrap / live-build (Debian-based builds)
* Buildroot (for minimal rootfs + kernel images)
* Yocto Project (flexible meta-distribution)
* Gentoo Catalyst (for full ISO or stage builds)

== 5. CI/CD Pipelines and Build Infrastructure ==

To ensure maintainability, reproducibility, and collaboration, we aim to adopt continuous integration and modern DevOps practices.

=== CI/CD Goals ===

* Automatically build U-Boot, kernel, and rootfs images
* Run tests on emulated environments (QEMU PPC64)
* Deploy daily/weekly builds for community testing
* Detect regressions early and validate commits

=== Tools ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Use Case !! Toolchain
|- 
| CI/CD pipelines || GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Buildbot
|- 
| Emulated testing || QEMU PowerPC64 + expect/serial scripts
|- 
| Cross-builds || Docker + <code>powerpc64-linux-gnu-gcc</code> toolchains
|- 
| Image hosting || GitHub Pages, Netlify, custom CDN
|- 
| Build orchestration || cbuild, Yocto Autobuilder, Jenkins
|}

=== Example CI Flow ===

# Push to <code>main</code> branch
# GitHub Actions builds U-Boot, kernel, and rootfs
# QEMU boots the image and verifies UART output
# Artifacts are uploaded to <code>artifacts.powerpcnotebook.org</code>

== 6. Docker Images for Build and Dev Environments ==

Pre-configured Docker images help developers build and test quickly across any host system.

=== Use Cases ===

* Build U-Boot or Linux kernel from any host
* Package testing in isolated environments
* Running PPC-specific tools in reproducible containers

=== Example Images ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Image Name !! Description
|- 
| powerpc-dev-env || Full dev env with toolchain and make
|- 
| powerpc-kernel-builder || Kernel-specific builder and configs
|- 
| powerpc-debian-chroot || Debootstrap PPC64 rootfs for package test
|}

== 7. Inspirations from Debian and Other Projects ==

We aim to reuse and adapt ideas from existing projects to accelerate development.

=== Relevant Debian Practices ===

* Reproducible Builds
* Debian Ports infrastructure
* <code>live-build</code> and <code>debootstrap</code>
* Debian Installer (<code>d-i</code>)
* QA tools: lintian, piuparts, autopkgtest

=== Related Projects to Watch ===
This information may be outdated as it is not easy to keep up with all the developments. Feel free to update the wiki in case of errors or omissions.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="height: 948px;"
|+ Open Source Distributions Supporting PowerPC (Including Less Mainstream Projects)
|- style="height: 51px;"
! style="height: 51px; width: 437.406px;" | Distribution Name !! style="height: 51px; width: 154.828px;" | Based On !! style="height: 51px; width: 111.594px;" | Active Status !! style="height: 51px; width: 197.031px;" | Last Release !! style="height: 51px; width: 280.281px;" | Source Code Repository !! style="height: 51px; width: 238.719px;" | Endian Support !! style="height: 51px; width: 90.6406px;" | 32-bit Support !! style="height: 51px; width: 90.6406px;" | 64-bit Support !! style="height: 51px; width: 467.109px;" | Notes
|- style="height: 28px;"
! style="height: 28px; width: 437.406px;" | Linux Distributions (Including Less Mainstream/Historical)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | Adélie Linux || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | Independent || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | December 20, 2024 (1.0-BETA6) || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://git.adelielinux.org/ || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Big Endian || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | Supports G3, G4, and G5 PowerPC.
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | Arch Power || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | Independent || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Active (unofficial port) || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | January 1, 2025 (2025.01.01) || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | https://github.com/kth5/archpower/wiki || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Big Endian (powerpc), Little Endian (ppc64el) || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Unofficial port.
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | Chimera Linux || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | Independent || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Beta || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | April 20, 2025 (Rolling Release) || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://github.com/chimera-linux/ || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Both (ppc, ppc64le) || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | Uses musl libc and FreeBSD userland.
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | CruxPPC || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | CRUX || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Inactive || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | Unknown || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://cruxppc.org/ || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Big Endian || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{cross}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | A port of the lightweight CRUX distribution to PowerPC. Status uncertain.
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | Debian || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | Debian || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | May 17, 2025 (Debian 12.11) || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | https://www.debian.org/ports/powerpc/inst/install || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Big Endian (powerpc), Little Endian (ppc64el) || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Development for ppc64 (big-endian) is mostly stalled.
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | Fedora || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | Fedora || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | April 15, 2025 (Fedora 42) || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | https://src.fedoraproject.org/ || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Big Endian (ppc64), Little Endian (ppc64le) || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{cross}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Dropped 32-bit PowerPC support after Fedora 22.
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | Fienix || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | Debian || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | Rolling || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://gitlab.com/fienix || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Both || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | A derivative of Debian tailored for PowerPC.
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | Gentoo Linux || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | Source-based || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | Rolling || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://gitweb.gentoo.org/ || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Both (ppc, ppc64) || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | Requires compiling from source. ppc64 profile is bi-endian.
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | MkLinux || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | Microkernel (Mach) / Linux || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Inactive || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | 1998 || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | https://www.mklinux.org/development/cvs.html || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Big Endian || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{cross}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Early port of Linux to PowerPC Macintosh. Development ceased.
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | MintPPC || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | Linux Mint/Debian || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | Rolling || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://github.com/MintPPC || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Both || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | Specifically designed for PowerPC (Old World and New World Macs).
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | openSUSE || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | SUSE || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | Rolling (Tumbleweed), Stable (Leap) || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | https://build.opensuse.org/ || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Both || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Offers both stable and rolling releases.
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | OpenPPC || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | Independent || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Inactive || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | 2006 || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | (Likely archived) || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Big Endian || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{cross}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Aimed to be a user-friendly PowerPC Linux distribution. Development ceased.
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | Ubuntu || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | Debian || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | Rolling || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://git.launchpad.net/ubuntu || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Both || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | Check specific release notes for architecture support.
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | Void Linux (PPC) || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | Independent || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Inactive || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | 2023 || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://github.com/void-ppc || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Both || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | Community-led effort.
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | Yellow Dog Linux || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | Red Hat/Fedora || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Inactive || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | August 6, 2009 (6.2) || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | (Likely archived, e.g., via WayBack Machine) || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Both || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Historically significant for PlayStation 3 and PowerPC Macs. Development ceased.
|-
| style="width: 451.656px;" | T2 SDE<br>
| style="width: 169.078px;" | -
| style="width: 125.844px;" | Active
| style="width: 211.281px;" | <br>
| style="width: 294.531px;" | https://t2sde.org/documentation/
| style="width: 252.969px;" | Both
| style="width: 104.891px;" | {{check}}
| style="width: 104.891px;" | {{check}}
| style="width: 481.359px;" | System to create new distributions. Similar to Yotco.
|-
| style="width: 451.656px;" | Bedrock Linux
| style="width: 169.078px;" | -
| style="width: 125.844px;" | <br>
| style="width: 211.281px;" | <br>
| style="width: 294.531px;" | https://bedrocklinux.org/
| style="width: 252.969px;" | <br>
| style="width: 104.891px;" | {{check}}
| style="width: 104.891px;" | {{check}}
| style="width: 481.359px;" | Sytem to create a new distribution by picking and choosing components from various distributions.
|- style="height: 28px;"
! style="height: 28px; width: 437.406px;" | FreeBSD Distributions (Including Less Mainstream/Historical)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | FreeBSD || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | BSD || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | March 11, 2025 (13.5-RELEASE) || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | https://cgit.freebsd.org/src/ || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Both || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Tier 2 support for 32-bit and 64-bit PowerPC. 32-bit support deprecated in 15.0.
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | MidnightBSD || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | FreeBSD || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | Rolling || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://github.com/midnightbsd || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Both || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | Aims to adapt FreeBSD for desktop usage.
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="height: 28px; width: 451.656px;" | NetBSD || style="height: 28px; width: 169.078px;" | BSD || style="height: 28px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 28px; width: 211.281px;" | Rolling || style="height: 28px; width: 294.531px;" | https://github.com/netbsd/src || style="height: 28px; width: 252.969px;" | Both || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 28px; width: 481.359px;" | Known for portability. MacPPC is Tier II.
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | OpenBSD || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | BSD || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Active || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | Rolling || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | https://github.com/openbsd/src || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Big Endian || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Focuses on security and has official support for Apple's Mac-based PowerPC hardware.
|- style="height: 51px;"
! style="height: 51px; width: 437.406px;" | Other Open Source Distributions (Including Less Mainstream/Historical)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="height: 51px; width: 451.656px;" | Haiku || style="height: 51px; width: 169.078px;" | Independent (BeOS inspired) || style="height: 51px; width: 125.844px;" | Beta || style="height: 51px; width: 211.281px;" | Rolling || style="height: 51px; width: 294.531px;" | https://github.com/haiku/haiku || style="height: 51px; width: 252.969px;" | Little Endian || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{check}} || style="height: 51px; width: 104.891px;" | {{cross}} || style="height: 51px; width: 481.359px;" | Has a PowerPC port, may require manual compilation.
|}

== 8. Build Tooling (WIP/Placeholders) ==

This section will document the exact steps, tools, and workflows needed to build every part of the software stack.

=== Build Tooling Overview ===

* Cross-toolchain setup (e.g. NXP SDK, crosstool-ng, LLVM)
* U-Boot build and customization
* Linux kernel configuration and build
* Root filesystem generation methods (debootstrap, Buildroot, Yocto)
* Build orchestration (Makefiles, shell scripts, CI runners)
* Packaging tools for our distro (dpkg, xbps, etc.)
* Secure image signing (U-Boot SPL, FIT images, secure boot)
* Emulator-based validation and test harnesses
'''Note:''' Details for each item will be populated progressively as we finalize architecture and test results.

== 9. Other Links and Resources ==

=== Technical Resources ===

* [https://www.nxp.com/products/processors-and-microcontrollers/power-architecture/qoriq-platforms/t-series/qoriq-t2080-and-t2081-multicore-communications-processors:T2080 NXP T2080 Reference Manual]
* [https://source.denx.de/u-boot/u-boot Denx U-Boot Git]
* [https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/powerpc/linux.git/ Linux PowerPC Git]
* [https://wiki.debian.org/PowerPC Debian PowerPC Wiki]
* [https://voidlinux-ppc.org/ Void PPC Project]

=== Community and Support ===

* [https://www.powerprogress.org/ Power Progress Community]
* [https://wiki.debian.org/PowerPC#Communication PowerPC IRC/Matrix]
* [https://openpowerfoundation.org/ OpenPOWER Foundation]