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Official project updates
A video was made. So I (Lars, editor) have wanted to do this for some time. A fun demo of getting started with Nerves. So I had my company Underjord do it. No doubt I will benefit immensely from this marketing effort. Or maybe it is mostly a labor of love. It is a short (One minute, 38 seconds) demonstration of doing your first steps with Nerves Livebook. It is on YouTube and on the Underjord site if you want to avoid Google.
If you want to use it to promote Nerves, feel free to embed, link or otherwise show it. I assume that we are all sensible here and the purpose of the video is to support Nerves adoption and build some excitement. Hope you all enjoy it and let me know if you have a tight compelling demo in mind that you think would be the ideal step 2 :)
On to the updates!
This is a Buildroot and Erlang bug fix release. It should be safe to upgrade to from v1.18.3.
Changes
- Buildroot’s gcc argument settings are now recorded to Nerves systems in the buildroot-gcc-args file. This includes flags that enable CPU features that may not be enabled by default in the toolchain. This file can be used for the new TARGET_GCC_FLAGS variable that can be set in the Nerves System’s mix.exs package definition.
Package updates
This means system updates. I'll group the following which all have the same changelog:
The rpi systems also note that the Wireguard kernel driver is built to enable VPN use-cases:
- nerves_system_rpi4, v1.18.2
- nerves_system_rpi3a, v1.18.2
- nerves_system_rpi3, v1.18.2
- nerves_system_rpi2, v1.18.2
- nerves_system_rpi, v1.18.2
- nerves_system_rpi0, v1.18.2
So they now use nerves_system_br v1.18.4 and specify CPU-specific flags when compiling NIFs and ports. This fixes an issue where some optimizations could not be enabled in NIFs even though it should be possible to have them. E.g., ARM NEON support for CPUs that have it.
The RPi systems also come with the Wireguard kernel driver compiled.
The BBB system has new device support and some other fun in it so that gets full detail:
This is a Buildroot and Erlang bug fix release that also adds support for additional AM335x-based boards. It should be a low risk upgrade from the previous release.
Updated dependencies
- nerves_system_br v1.18.4
- Linux 5.10.87
Changes
- Support the Beaglebone Blue (robotics-focused Beaglebone) and the AM3358 EVM Starter Kit (dual Ethernet)
- Adjust PRU parameters to match TI configs. If you’re using the PRUs, please verify that the changes do not break your code.
- Reduce kernel timers from 250 Hz to 100 Hz resolution. 100 Hz is the value used by the TI source and the value used by other official Nerves systems.
- When deriving the board serial number, fail back to the /proc/cpuinfo contents before using the wired Ethernet MAC.
- Specify CPU-specific flags when compiling NIFs and ports. This fixes an issue where some optimizations could not be enabled in NIFs even though it should be possible to have them. E.g., ARM NEON support for CPUs that have it.
- Build the Wireguard kernel driver. This is a small device driver that enables a number of VPN-based use cases.
Updates:
- Update to nerves_system_br v1.18.4-based systems (Erlang/OTP 24.2.1)
- Update circuits_spi to support devices that need the least significant bit first
- Fixes
- Fix TARGET_GCC_FLAGS issue that inadvertently removed CFLAGS options on Nerves systems that used it.
- Improvements
- Unset environment variables set by Erlang that can confuse some C/C++ libraries when building.
- Add experimental support for TARGET_GCC_FLAGS for enabling CPU-specific features in NIFs and ports via Nerves package definitions. This is similar in intent to TARGET_CPU, etc.
Fixed
- Fixed dropped pppd notifications to Elixir when using Nerves systems with glibc v2.33 and later. This affects Nerves toolchains with version numbers v1.4.2 and later.
Added
- Add support to configure which radio technologies you want the modem to use
Fixes
- References to manufacturer
- Infinite retrying to establish connection after the connection has been established
- Report selected APN before connection attempt
Added
Support for getting and setting modem operating mode and support for getting and setting configuration for the modem’s radio technology preference.
- QMI.DeviceManagement.get_operating_mode/1 (@jjcarstens)
- QMI.DeviceManagement.set_operating_mode/2 (@jjcarstens)
- QMI.Codec.DeviceManagement.get_operating_mode/0 (@jjcarstens)
- QMI.Codec.DeviceManagement.set_operating_mode/1 (@jjcarstens)
- QMI.NetworkAccess.get_system_selection_preference/1
- QMI.NetworkAccess.set_system_selection_preference/2
- QMI.Codec.NetworkAccess.get_system_selection_preference/0
- QMI.Codec.NetworkAccess.set_system_selection_preference/1
- Changes
- Fix issue where manually specifying a hostname would cause the subnet to be set incorrectly in the DHCP responses. Huge thanks to @aadavids for finding and fixing this.
- Bug fixes
- Fix crash when scanning for WiFi networks and near an Eero mesh WiFi system.
- Updates
- Pulled in a fix for scanning WiFi access points when an Eero mesh system is nearby.
Community updates
Connor Rigby blogging
Nerves core team member Connor Rigby updated his avatar on Twitter and suddenly we get blog posts. Some good Nerves stuff, some good Nerves-adjacent stuff. I'm especially curious about that encrypted SQLite one.
The blog: https://cone.codes/
Cocoa and evision on Thinking Elixir podcast
I've covered the OpenCV bindings for Elixir with evision project before but the creator, Cocoa, was on the Thinking Elixir podcast recently. I haven't had a chance to listen through it yet but I really enjoy the project.
Nerves and Nx at ElixirConf EU
ElixirConf EU was unfortunately pushed off into June which is probably quite good for a number of reasons but terrible for me personally as I'll almost definitely not be able to make it.
On the plus-side they will have a talk on Distributed Computational Workloads with Nx and Nerves. That sounds interesting.
Supporting the Nerves project
We want to encourage everyone to contribute in whatever way works for them. Here are some ways we currently recommend:
- Write or port a new hardware library and include it in the Elixir Circuits collection.
- Give money to the project via Open Collective.
- Get in touch about taking over maintenance duties for some libraries, we might be able to provide you hardware.
- Apply for an EEF stipend on something Nerves-related and build it. We can help if you have questions about this.
- Send corrections or improvements for documentation wherever it fails to help you.
- Write about Nerves, give talks about Nerves. Make videos about Nerves. It is all good.
Finally, if you have questions about the newsletter or want to suggest something you can simply respond to this email it will go directly to me, Lars, who edits this thing. Let me know what you think.
- Lars, Underjord.io
