Device Tree Overview

Since Linux 3.x, device tree is introduced as a data structure and language to describe hardware configuration. It is a system-readable description of hardware settings so that the operating system doesn’t have to hard code details of the machine.

A device tree is primarily represented in the following forms.
  • Device Tree Compiler (DTC): The tool used to compile device tree into system-readable binaries.
  • Device Tree Source (DTS): The human-readable device tree description file. You can locate the target parameters and modify hardware configuration in this file.
  • Device Tree Source Information (DTSI): The human-readable header file which you can include in device tree description. You can locate the target parameters and modify hardware configuration in this file.
  • Device Tree Blob (DTB): The system-readable device tree binary blob files which is burned in system for execution.
The following diagram shows the relationship (workflow) of the above forms.
Figure 1. Device Tree Workflow