1.1 Audience / Document scope

The audience for this document includes UEFI firmware architecture, development, validation, and enabling engineers.

The UEFI Forum and the TianoCore.org EDK II specifications provide tremendous flexibility and extensibility. The Minimum Platform Architecture is intended to introduce interfaces and structure so that platforms are consistent and thus approachable by engineers from across the ecosystem. The minimal platform specifically refers to a platform layer within a multi-layer solution; its scope and therefore this specification defines this layer and its dependencies. The minimal platform is a single code package used as-is from open source similar to MDE Module package usage. By using this platform as a base, the fundamental boot flow is consistent, well-documented, and visible across the UEFI community.

This approach does not rule out innovation and customization. The platform calls two primary sets of external APIs throughout the boot, for board and chipset initialization. These APIs are considered dependencies, and therefore are defined in this specification. The implementation of these APIs is expected to vary based on unique board and chipset requirements. Furthermore, the minimal platform can be arbitrarily extended through a simple and modular advanced feature design.

The Minimum Platform Architecture enables scalability from pre-silicon validation activities, to final product shipment, to derivative product use. The Minimum Platform Architecture should enable engineering activities from all segments: from high-touch Intel supported OEMs to individual makers with previous UEFI experience but no direct support from Intel.