Skip to main content

The history of xPack QEMU Arm

2015​

This project commenced in 2015 as one of the support tools for the GNU Arm Eclipse plug-ins, which were subsequently rebranded as GNU MCU Eclipse plug-ins and are now integrated into the Eclipse Embedded CDT.

The initial name of the package was GNU MCU Eclipse QEMU GCC and was first published on npmjs.com as @gnu-mcu-eclipse/qemu.

April 2015​

The first GNU ARM Eclipse QEMU release was v2.2.92-20150404.

May 2018​

The project was renamed GNU MCU Eclipse QEMU and was published on npmjs.com as @gnu-mcu-eclipse/qemu (in v2.8.0-3-20180523).

July 2019​

The project was renamed xPack QEMU Arm and the npm scope was changed from @gnu-mcu-eclipse to @xpack-dev-tools (in v2.8.0-7).

July 2020​

Support for 32/64-bit Arm GNU/Linux platforms (like Raspberry Pi) was added (in v2.8.0-9).

October 2021​

In the Windows binaries, the MSVC runtime was replaced with the newer Universal C Runtime (UCRT) (in v2.8.0-13).

December 2021​

Support for Apple Silicon macOS was added (in v6.2.0-1).

January 2022​

Support for x86 Windows and x86 GNU/Linux (32-bit) was discontinued (in v6.2.0-1).

December 2022​

The project received a significant update by transitioning the build scripts from the unwieldy monolithic XBB Docker images to the more flexible and modular xpm packages. XBB version 5.0.0 marked a major milestone for the xPack project, as it was the first self-sustained release. This version enabled the creation of new binary packages utilising existing binary packages, eliminating the need for bespoke Docker images or other compiled tools.

August 2024​

The project underwent comprehensive restructuring. To streamline the top-level package.json by presenting only user-related definitions whilst concealing build-related ones, all build-related files were relocated to the build-assets folder. Furthermore, the development Git branch was renamed to xpack-development for enhanced clarity.