SDK/Docs/1.0/MeeGo SDK with Xephyr

Latest revision as of 22:12, 24 June 2011

The MeeGo SDK with Xephyr provides a development environment on Linux workstations for Netbook and Handheld applications.

Set up the MeeGo SDK with Xephyr

1. Download the MeeGo SDK Image for your target as described on the Getting Started for Linux page.
2. Unpack the image on your workstation.

$ tar xvjf <compressed image file> 

3. Install the meego-sdk-chroot script.

The meego-sdk-chroot script sets up mountpoints for the chroot environment, then starts the chroot proper. The script also attempts to unmount everything when it exits and clear up any processes started in the chroot. Get it with:

$ wget http://download3.meego.com/meego-sdk-chroot

Make the chroot script executable:

$ chmod +x ./meego-sdk-chroot

4. Configure X on the host to allow Xephyr to access the display

$ xhost +SI:localuser:<user name>

Example for user named "bob":

$ xhost +SI:localuser:bob

(You need to do this once before running Xephyr or Qt Creator after each reboot)

5. Mount and "Change root" into the MeeGo image.

Create a directory for the MeeGo image contents:

$ mkdir <image destination directory>

Mount the image into the directory:

$ sudo mount -o loop,offset=512 <image file> <image destination directory>

Change the root of the terminal to the MeeGo OS root:

$ sudo ./meego-sdk-chroot <image destination directory>

Example:

$ sudo mkdir /opt/meego-handset
$ sudo mount -o loop,offset=512 ./meego-handset-ia32-1.0.80.9.20100706.1-sdk-pre0721.raw /opt/meego-handset
$ sudo ./meego-sdk-chroot /opt/meego-handset

The output from running meego-sdk-chroot should look like this:

mount --bind /proc /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/proc
mount --bind /sys /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/sys
mount --bind /dev /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/dev
mount --bind /dev/pts /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/dev/pts
mount --bind /tmp /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/tmp
mount --bind /var/lib/dbus /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/var/lib/dbus
mount --bind /var/run/dbus /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/var/run/dbus
cp /etc/resolv.conf /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/etc/resolv.conf
root@meego-handset-sdk:/#

This is now a MeeGo chroot terminal. It behaves just like a terminal running in the MeeGo OS: paths, programs, libraries, and environment are all the same as those on a MeeGo OS netbook or handset.

Caution: If you later decide to delete the directory that you created, you should unmount the image first. Otherwise the contents of the image will be destroyed.

$ sudo umount <image destination directory>

Note: meego-sdk-chroot uses the chroot command. Be sure it is in your path or create an alias:

$ alias chroot='/usr/sbin/chroot'

Start the MeeGo UI with Xephyr

1. Check for Intel graphics chipset.

$ lspci | grep VGA

Desired output: 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation ...

If your system does not have Intel graphics, you cannot start Xephyr with the MeeGo image. However, you can still use the chroot to launch your applications which will run on the desktop. Go to "Application Development" below.

2. Set the DISPLAY environment variable.

Xephyr does not see DISPLAY env variable from host system because Xephyr is running from the MeeGo chroot terminal. In the MeeGo chroot terminal, set the DISPLAY variable before running the startmeego script below.

# export DISPLAY=:0

3. Install the MeeGo simulator launcher (not always needed).

The handset SDK has the MeeGo simulator launcher pre-installed, but for some reason the handset sdk doesn't seem to have it installed. So, in the handset SDK, first you want to do the following from inside the MeeGo chroot terminal:

# zypper install meego-simulator-launcher-handset

4. Launch Xephyr.

From inside the MeeGo chroot terminal:

# startmeego &

This starts the Xephyr server and runs a script to start the MeeGo UI.

MeeGo Handset UI in Xephyr

MeeGo Netbook UI in Xephyr

5. Exit the Simulator.

You can stop Xephyr by closing the Xephyr window (click X in the upper corner). You can exit the MeeGo chroot terminal with:

# exit

This closes down any processes started inside the chroot and unmounts directories used by the chroot environment. The output should look something like this:

umount /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/proc
umount /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/sys
umount /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/dev/pts
umount /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/dev
umount /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/tmp
umount /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/var/lib/dbus
umount /home/ell/meego-sdk-0524/var/run/dbus

Debugging the Simulator

If you are having issues running Xephyr, use the debug script to see what's happening:

startmeego-debug

This shows the console output from the script, which may give you some clues if it's not working correctly.

Application Development

The MeeGo chroot terminal can be used to build, run, and debug your application. You can do this with or without Xephyr.

Running without Xephyr: If you run your application from the command-line, it will run normally on your workstation. Although it is not running inside the MeeGo OS UI, it is still using the MeeGo libraries. You can put temporary code in your application to manually set its window size to that of a netbook (1024x800) or handheld (800x480 or 480x800) device.

Running with Xephyr: If you have Xephyr running already, before you start your application from the command-line you need to set the $DISPLAY variable to :2 tell your application to display in the Xephyr window. Otherwise, it will use the default DISPLAY value of :0 and show up on your workstation.

# export DISPLAY=:2
# <start your application>

Building your application in the MeeGo chroot terminal is the same as doing so on a MeeGo system. You can use gcc, emacs, or any other Linux development tools you are comfortable with. (See Qt Creator use below).

Source Code Management

Source code is often managed by a version control system and checked in/out on your host workstation. To have your source directory available within the MeeGo chroot, you can "mount --bind" your source directory to a subdirectory in the MeeGo chroot. From a terminal on your host workstation, outside the MeeGo chroot:

$ sudo mount --bind <full path to source directory on host workstation> <full path to MeeGo chroot directory>/<subdirectory in MeeGo>

For example, using the directories in the example above where the chroot folder is located at /opt/meego-handset, do the following:

$ sudo mkdir /opt/meego-handset/root/src      <-- Create a folder inside MeeGo to mount the source to
$ sudo mount --bind /home/bob/src/ /opt/meego-handset/root/src/

Caution: Be sure to unmount this directory when finished and before "rm -rf /opt/meego-handset" at some later date or your source directory will be destroyed.

Qt Creator IDE

Qt Creator is part of MeeGo. You can launch Qt Creator from the MeeGo chroot. The following will open Qt Creator IDE on your workstation (not in Xephyr)

# export DISPLAY=:0
# qtcreator

From Qt Creator you can now load your project, build, run, and debug it as you would normally.

Installing other software

You can install additional software into the MeeGo chroot environment. From the MeeGo chroot terminal:

# zypper install <package>

You can also upgrade the whole MeeGo image using:

# zypper dist-upgrade

Known issues

• Currently Xephyr with GL acceleration does not work with Fedora 13.
• Panels which rely on DBus (like the battery, networking) don't report devices properly.
• Applications that rely on DBus might work inconsistently because the host workstation's system bus is used.

Another language version of this page

• Simplified Chinese - 简体中文

Related Articles

• A nice article explaining some extra details to get the Meego SDK working with non-Intel Graphic cards, using Xephyr without GL acceleration.