2.4 [FD] Sections

The [FD] sections are made up of the definition statements and a description of what goes into the Flash Device Image. Each FD section defines one flash "device" image. A flash device image may be one of the following: Removable media bootable image (like a boot floppy image,) a System "Flash" image (that would be burned into a system's flash) or an Update ("Capsule") image that will be used to update and existing system flash.

Multiple FD sections can be defined in a FDF file.

The section header format is [FD.FdUiName] where the FdUiName can be any value defined by the user. If only a single FD is constructed for a platform then FdUiName is optional, and the processing tools will use the DSC file [Defines] section's PLATFORM_NAME value for creating the FD file.

An FD section is terminated by any other section header section or the end of the file.

This section is required for platform images, and not required for OptionROM images.

2.4.1 FD TOKEN Statements

The Token statements are used to define the physical part. These include the base address of the image, the size of the image, the erase polarity and block information. Only one of each of the valid token names can be defined in any one FD section, except as noted below.

Token = VALUE [| PcdName]

Only one token statement can appear on a single line, and each token statement must be on a single line. Multi-line token statements are not permitted.

There are five valid Token names defined by this specification.

BaseAddress

The base address of the FLASH Device.

Size

The size in bytes of the FLASH Device

ErasePolarity

Either 0 or 1, depending on the erase polarity of the Flash Device.

BlockSize

One or More - Size of a block, optionally followed by number of blocks. Multiple BlockSize statements are legal, and the first statement represents block 0 (the first block) and subsequent BlockSize statements represent blocks 1 - N.

NumBlocks

Zero or one - The number of continuous blocks of size, BlockSize. If NumBlocks is not present, the number of blocks defaults to 1.

An optional PcdName may follow the Token statement and is separated from the statement using a pipe "|" character. The PcdName is assigned $(VALUE). Only one PcdName can be assigned a Token's Value.

2.4.2 FD DEFINE statements

DEFINE statements are used to define MACRO definitions that are scoped to the individual FD sections. DEFINE statements are processed in order, so a later DEFINE statement for a given MACRO over-writes the previous definition. The DEFINE statements are typically used for creating short-cut names for directory path names but may be used for identifying other items or values that will be used in later statements.

DEFINE MACRO = PATH

The following are examples of the DEFINE statement.

DEFINE FV_DIR           = $(OUT_DIR)/$(TARGET)_$(TOOL_CHAIN_TAG)/$(ARCH)
DEFINE MDE_MOD_TSPG     = gEfiMdeModulePkgTokenSpaceGuid
DEFINE NV_STOR_VAR_SIZE = PcdFlashNvStorageVariableSize
DEFINE FV_HDR_SIZE      = 0x48
DEFINE VAR_STORE_SIZE   = $(MDE_MOD_TSPG).$(NV_STOR_VAR_SIZE) - $(FV_HDR_SIZE)

The $(MACRO) can be used to create a shorthand notation that can be used elsewhere within the FDF file. Macro values may be scoped to subsections of the FDF file. Macros are also positional, with later values replacing values for macros at the same level. When tools process this file, the $(MACRO) name will be expanded in commands or files emitted from the tools. In the following example, $(OUTPUT_DIRECTORY) is a variable, whose value is found in the platform's DSC file, and this file assigns OUT_DIR as the variable name to use, with the same value as $(OUTPUT_DIRECTORY):

DEFINE OUT_DIR = $(OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)
DEFINE FV_DIR = $(OUT_DIR)/$(TARGET)_$(TOOL_CHAIN_TAG)/$(ARCH)/FV

If the DSC file declares OUTPUT_DIRECTORY = $(WORKSPACE)/Build/Nt32, TARGET = DEBUG, target.txt uses MYTOOLS for the tool chain, and the platform is IA32, then a statement later in the section that references $(FV_DIR) is interpreted by the tools as being:

$(WORKSPACE)/Build/Nt32/DEBUG_MYTOOLS/IA32/FV

2.4.3 FD SET statements

SET statements are used to define the values of PCD statements. The current PCD maps for regions include extra PCD entries that define properties of the region, so the SET statement can occur anywhere within an FD section.

SET statements are positional within the FDF file.

SET PcdName = VALUE

Additionally, a PCD Name is made up of two parts, separated by a period "." character. The format for a PcdName is:

PcdTokenSpaceGuidCName.PcdCName

The following is an example of the SET statement:

SET gFlashDevicePkgTokenSpaceGuid.PcdEfiMemoryMapped = TRUE

The VALUE specified must match the PCD's datum type and must be the content data.

For a PCD that has a datum type of VOID*, the data can be a Unicode string, as in L"text", a valid C data array (it must be either a C format GUID or a hex byte array), as in {0x20, 0x01, 0x50, 0x00, 0x32, 0xFF, 0x00, 0xAA, {0xFF, 0xF0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00}}. For other PCD datum types, the value may be a boolean or a hex value, as in 0x0000000F, with a value that is consistent with the PCD's datum type.

The value may also be a macro or it may be computed, using arithmetic operations, arithmetic expressions and or logical expressions. The value portion of the SET statement, when using any of these computations are in-fix expressions that are evaluated left to right, with items within parenthesis evaluated before the outer expressions are evaluated. Use of parenthesis is encouraged to remove ambiguity.

2.4.4 FD Region Layout

Following the FD defines section are lists of Regions which correspond to the locations of different images within the flash device. Currently most flash devices have a variable number of blocks, all of identical size. When "burning" an image into one of these devices, only whole blocks can be burned into the device at any one time. This puts a constraint that all layout regions of the FD image must start on a block boundary. To accommodate future flash parts that have variable block sizes, the layout is described by the offset from the BaseAddress and the size of the section that is being described. Since completely filling a block is not probable, part of the last block of a region can be left empty. To ensure that no extraneous information is left in a partial block, it is recommended that the block be erased prior to burning it into the device.

Regions must be defined in ascending order and may not overlap.

A layout region start with an eight digit hex offset (leading "0x" required) followed by the pipe "|" character, followed by the size of the region, also in hex with the leading "0x" characters.

The typical layout region is terminated by the start of another region or an FV Section header.

The format for an FD Layout Region is:

Offset|Size
[TokenSpaceGuidCName.PcdOffsetCName | TokenSpaceGuidCName.PcdSizeCName] ?
  [RegionType] ?

Setting the optional PCD names in this fashion is a shortcut. The two regions listed below are identical, with the first example using the shortcut, and the second using the long method:

0x000000|0x0C0000
gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashFvMainBaseAddress | gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashFvMainSize
FV = FvMain

0x000000|0x0C0000
SET gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashFvMainBaseAddress = 0x000000
SET gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashFvMainSize        = 0x0C0000
FV = FvMain

The shortcut method is preferred, as the user does not need to maintain the values in two different locations.

The RegionType, if specified, must be one of the following FV, DATA, FILE, INF or CAPSULE. Not specifying the RegionType implies that the region starting at the "Offset", of length "Size" must not be touched (unless the region will be used for VPD data). This type of region is typically used for event logs that are persistent between system resets, and modified via some other mechanism (and Each FD region has a UiName modifier, then the output image files uses the UiName modifier for the file name.

Note: Although sub-regions existed in EDK FDF files, EDK II FDF does not use the concept of subregions.

2.4.4.1 FV RegionType

The FV RegionType is a pointer to either one of the unique FV names that are defined in the [FV] section. Both of these are files that contains a binary FV as defined by the PI 1.0 specification. The format for the FV RegionType is the following:

FV = UiFvName

The following is an example of FV region type:

0x000000|0x0C0000
gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashFvMainBaseAddress | gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashFvMainSize
FV = FvMain

2.4.4.2 DATA RegionType

The DATA RegionType is a region that contains is a hex byte value or an array of hex byte values. This data that will be loaded into the flash device, starting at the first location pointed to by the Offset value. The format of the DATA RegionType is:

DATA = { }

The following is an example of a DATA region type.

0x0CA000 | 0x002000
gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashNvStorageBase | gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashNvStorageSize
DATA = {
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
  0x8D, 0x2B, 0xF1, 0xFF, 0x96, 0x76, 0x8B, 0x4C
}

The !include statement is valid for hex array portion of the DATA RegionType. The following is a valid usage for the !include statement.

0x0CA000 | 0x002000
gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashNvStorageBase | gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashNvStorageSize
DATA = {
  !include NvStoreInit.txt
}

2.4.4.3 FILE RegionType

The FILE RegionType is a pointer to a binary file that will be loaded into the flash device, starting at the first location pointed to by the Offset value. It should be noted that a file can be fully qualified path and filename that is outside of the current WORKSPACE (or the directories listed in PACKAGES_PATH system environment variable). The file must be a binary (.efi) or a raw binary file. The format of the FILE RegionType is:

FILE = $(FILE_DIR)/Filename.bin

Caution: If a fully qualified path and filename is specified, the platform integrator must ensure that all developers using the DSC and FDF file are aware of the requirements for this path.

The following is an example of the FILE RegionType.

0x0CC000|0x002000
gEfiCpuTokenSpaceGuid.PcdCpuMicrocodePatchAddress | gEfiCpuTokenSpaceGuid.PcdCpuMicrocodePatchSize
FILE = $(OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)/$(TARGET)_$(TOOL_CHAIN_TAG)/X64/Microcode.bin

# VPD Data Region
0x0026D000|0x00001000
gEfiMdeModulePkgTokenSpaceGuid.PcdVpdBaseAddress

FILE = $(OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)/$(TARGET)_$(TOOL_CHAIN_TAG)/FV/8C3D856A-9BE6468E-850A-24F7A8D38E08.bin

2.4.4.4 Capsule RegionType

The CAPSULE RegionType is a pointer to a capsule section UiName that will be loaded into the flash device, starting at the first location pointed to by the Offset value. The format of the FILE RegionType is:

CAPSULE = UiCapsuleName

The following is an example of the CAPSULE RegionType.

0x0CC000|0x002000
gEfiTokenSpaceGuid.PcdCapsuleOffset | gEfiTokenSpaceGuid.PcdCapsuleSize
CAPSULE = MyCapsule

2.4.4.5 INF Region Type

The INF statements point to EDK component and EDK II module INF files. Parsing tools will scan the INF file to determine the type of component or module. The component or module type is used to reference the standard rules defined elsewhere in the FDF file.

The format for INF statements is:

INF [Options] PathAndInfFileName

The PathAndInfFileName is the WORKSPACE (or PACKAGES_PATH) relative path and filename.

2.4.4.6 No RegionType Specified

It is permissible to define a region with no data pre-loaded. For example, event logging needs a data region to store events. This region is filled with data that matches the ErasePolarity bit during the initial installation of the firmware or through UEFI or operating system commands and services.

An example of no region type specified is:

0x0CE000|0x002000
gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashNvStorageEventLogBase | gEfiMyTokenSpaceGuid.PcdFlashNvStorageEventLogBase