2.1 Processing Overview

Each module or component INF file is broken out into sections in a manner similar to the other build meta-data files. However, the intent of a module's INF file is to define the source files, libraries, and definitions relevant to building the module, creating binary files that are either raw binary files or PE32/PE32+/coff format files. The different sections are described in detail in this chapter. In general, the original EDK parsing utilities read each line from the [Libraries] or [Components] sections of the build description (DSC) file, process the INF file on a line to generate a makefile, and then continued with the next line. EDK II parsing utilities are token based, which permits an element to span multiple lines. The EDK II utilities check both EDK and EDK II INF files, and, if required, generate C code files based on the content of the EDK II INF. Refer to the EDK II Build Specification for more information regarding these autogenerated files.

One major difference between EDK and EDK II is support for non-Microsoft development environments. Because modules may be distributed to developers that use these environments, both source code and the meta-data files need to be UNIX*/ GCC clean. One little known fact regarding the Microsoft tools and operating systems is their ability to process the forward slash "/" character as a directory separator.

All EDK II INF files MUST use this forward slash character for all directory paths specified.