Initial Program Loaders (IPLs)

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IPLs first set up the minimum environment needed to execute their compiled C code, then find the OS image and load it into memory, and then jump to the QNX startup code.

An IPL is minimalist; it uses as little code as possible to get the startup code to run. An IPL performs the following tasks, in sequence:
  1. Complete hardware initializations, if needed.
  2. Set up a stack for the C-language environment.
  3. Find and validate the OS image.
  4. Load the OS image into memory.
  5. Jump to the startup code in the OS image.

An IPL can be stored on either a linearly mapped device, such as a NOR Flash memory device, or a non-linearly mapped device, such as an eMMC, SD card, or SPI NOR Flash device. Like the board architecture, the type of memory device on which the IPL and the OS image are stored determines the design of the IPL (see the next section and Image storage later in this chapter).

Factors affecting IPL design

The design and content of an IPL are affected by numerous factors, including:
Board
IPLs are target architecture-specific. IPLs for x86 processors and ARM processors are very different (see From reset to startup).
In addition to being architecture-specific, an IPL is specific to the board (and even the board variant) that it runs on. It must be customized so that it knows how to configure the memory controller, set the clocks, and perform other hardware initializations.
Supported removeable media
The type of removable media that the board retrieves the boot image from determines the boot strategies and techniques that the IPL can use.
Although linear media are supported, non-linear media (for example, USB key or onboard eMMC, NOR flash, or NAN flash) have become the most common options.
Size of the storage media
Whether the IFS image is compressed or uncompressed depends on the size and performance of the storage media.
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