uClinux boot from epcs ?

Hi jdhar,

The Altera boot copier is a bare-bones crt0 implementation. It does exactly what you

need it to do ... in only a handful of instructions ... nothing more. u-boot however, is

a full-featured boot-loader, not just a "a nice little boot copier". In addition

to the features wgoossens mentioned, u-boot also supports the following:

- Command line interface via JTAG/UART.

- Full epcs support read/write/program/protect.

- Serial port download using kermit.

- File download via Ethernet using TFTP and/or NFS.

- Scripting (scripts can be run automatically at startup).

- Flash programming (e.g. download your file via NFS, then program into your flash).

- BOOTP/DHCP client support.

- Memory read, write, fill, compare and tesing (several test flavors available).

- RARP

- Support for JFFS2, CRAMFS, DOS, etc. (including multiple partitions).

- Support for SPI, MMC, CompactFlash, etc.

The list goes on ... but you get the picture ... if all you need is crt0 -- use the Altera

boot-copier. If you want (or need) to do more than that you can use u-boot ... or

redboot ... or something similar.

In any case, I highly recommend you give u-boot (and/or redboot) a test drive.

There are many features you may find very handy ... and there's lots of code you

can hoist into your own loaders as well.

Regards,

--Scott