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Terms used across the xcdl project

Terminology​

The definitions used in the xCDL project are listed below.

CDL​

CDL stands for Component Definition Language. It was introduced by eCos and is documented in The eCos Component Writer's Guide.

xCDL​

xCDL is the xPack Configuration Definition Language and framework, inspired by eCos CDL.

xCDL uses several concepts inherited from eCos CDL:

  • software component: a set of source files that perform a given function, standalone or depending on other components, together with some metadata.
  • component metadata: additional informations added to software components to describe dependencies, requirements and constraints.
  • configuration tools: tools running on development machines to create and manage xCDL configurations and component metadata.
  • configurations: specific metadata definitions, that describe the requirements of an application, like which components are used, the values for preprocessor definitions, toolchain selection, build details, etc.
  • build configurations: the outcome of processing an xCDL configuration, typically resulting in a build folder containing associated build-related files (such as CMake, Meson, or GNU Make files). When utilised in conjunction with xpm, the xCDL configuration serves as a parameter for the xpm build configuration. Multiple build configurations can be derived from the same xCDL configuration, for instance, when building the same unit test with various versions of a toolchain.
  • requirements: direct requirements, generally components that are needed by other components in order for the build to succeed.
  • constraints: in general hardware dependencies, like the presence of a certain peripheral; dependencies to software options can also be used.

More​

More elaborate definitions are available in the Concepts page.