kumquat-buildroot/docs/manual
Thomas Petazzoni a4239f7fd1 core: introduce the BR2_EXTERNAL variable
This commit introduces the BR2_EXTERNAL environment variable, which
will allow to keep Buildroot customization (board-specific
configuration files or root filesystem overlays, package Config.in and
makefiles, as well as defconfigs) outside of the Buildroot tree.

This commit only introduces the variable itself, and ensures that it
is available within Config.in options. This allows us to use
$BR2_EXTERNAL in a 'source' statement in Config.in.

Following patches extend the usage of BR2_EXTERNAL to other areas
(packages and defconfigs).

In details, this commit:

 * Introduces the BR2_EXTERNAL Kconfig option. This option has no
   prompt, and is therefore not visible to the user and also not
   stored in the .config file. It is automatically set to the value of
   the BR2_EXTERNAL environment variable. The only purpose of this
   BR2_EXTERNAL Kconfig option is to allow $BR2_EXTERNAL to be
   properly expanded when used inside Kconfig source statements.

 * Calculates the BR2_EXTERNAL value to use. If passed on the command
   line, then this value is taken in priority, and saved to a
   .br-external hidden file in the output directory. If not passed on
   the command line, then we read the .br-external file from the
   output directory. This allows the user to not pass the BR2_EXTERNAL
   value at each make invocation. If no BR2_EXTERNAL value is passed,
   we define it to support/dummy-external, so that the kconfig code
   finds an existing $(BR2_EXTERNAL)/package/Config.in file to
   include.

 * Passes the BR2_EXTERNAL into the *config environment, so that its
   value is found when parsing/evaluating Config.in files and .config
   values.

Signed-off-by: Arnout Vandecappelle (Essensium/Mind) <arnout@mind.be>
Signed-off-by: Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com>
Reviewed-by: "Yann E. MORIN" <yann.morin.1998@free.fr>
Tested-by: "Yann E. MORIN" <yann.morin.1998@free.fr>
Acked-by: Ryan Barnett <rjbarnet@rockwellcollins.com>
Tested-by: "Samuel Martin" <s.martin49@gmail.com>
Acked-by: "Samuel Martin" <s.martin49@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Peter Korsgaard <peter@korsgaard.com>
2013-12-08 22:38:13 +01:00
..
adding-packages-autotools.txt manual: remove package clean commands 2013-12-08 19:41:54 +01:00
adding-packages-cmake.txt manual: remove package clean commands 2013-12-08 19:41:54 +01:00
adding-packages-conclusion.txt
adding-packages-directory.txt manual: remove package clean commands 2013-12-08 19:41:54 +01:00
adding-packages-generic.txt manual: remove package clean commands 2013-12-08 19:41:54 +01:00
adding-packages-gettext.txt
adding-packages-hooks.txt
adding-packages-tips.txt docs: document the new github helper function 2013-12-06 22:37:34 +01:00
adding-packages.txt
advanced.txt
appendix.txt
beyond-buildroot.txt
ccache-support.txt
common-usage.txt
configure.txt
contribute.txt
customize-busybox-config.txt
customize-kernel-config.txt
customize-packages.txt
customize-rootfs.txt post-{build, images} hooks: export BUILD_DIR too 2013-11-13 00:25:18 +01:00
customize-store.txt
customize-toolchain.txt
customize-uclibc-config.txt
customize.txt
debugging-buildroot.txt pkg-infra: add user-supplied step-hooks 2013-11-13 00:27:26 +01:00
developer-guide.txt pkg-infra: add user-supplied step-hooks 2013-11-13 00:27:26 +01:00
download-infra.txt
download-location.txt
eclipse-integration.txt
faq-troubleshooting.txt
get-involved.txt
getting.txt
going-further.txt
how-buildroot-works.txt
introduction.txt
known-issues.txt
legal-notice.txt legal info: update documentation with split target/host output 2013-11-17 09:15:17 +01:00
make-tips.txt
makedev-syntax.txt
makeusers-syntax.txt
manual.mk core: introduce the BR2_EXTERNAL variable 2013-12-08 22:38:13 +01:00
manual.txt
package-make-target.txt manual: remove package clean commands 2013-12-08 19:41:54 +01:00
patch-policy.txt
prerequisite.txt docs/manual: Add version number to perl in prerequisites 2013-11-11 15:06:34 +01:00
rebuilding-packages.txt
starting-up.txt
using-buildroot-toolchain.txt
using.txt
working-with.txt
writing-rules.txt