A board support package (BSP) is the common name for all board hardware-specific code. It typically consists of the boot loader, the OEM adaptation layer (OAL), and board-specific device drivers. The BSP creation process involves developing a boot loader, developing an OAL, creating device drivers, and modifying platform configuration files.
If you do not have an existing BSP, you can create a new BSP from the beginning or create a new one by cloning an existing BSP that is designed for similar hardware. If you have an existing BSP, you can migrate or update it to be fully compatible with the features in Windows CE .NET 4.2.
The following elements are contained in a board support package (BSP):
- Boot loader: During development, it downloads the operating system (OS) images. For more information, see Boot Loaders.
- OEM adaptation layer (OAL): It links to the kernel image and supports hardware initialization and management. For more information, see OEM Adaptation Layer.
- Device drivers: They support peripherals on-board or are attached at run time. For more information, see Driver Development.
- Configuration files: Once they are created, a BSP can be reconfigured through environment variables and .bib and .reg file modifications. For more information, see Platform Configuration Files.
The following illustration shows how the OAL, boot loader, drivers, and configuration files interrelate with the BSP and the standard development board (SDB).
+----------------------
|......................
|..BSP.................
|......................
|..+--------------+....
|..|..............|....
|..|.... OAL .....|....
|..|..............|....
|..+--------------+....
|......................
|..+--------------+....
|..|. Boot Loader.|....
|..+--------------+....
|......................
+----------------------
+----------------------
|.........SDB..........
+----------------------
The above is a direct quote from http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/wcedsn40/html/cgconBoardSupportPackageDevelopment.asp
