newbie first steps on Cora Z7: getting from pre-canned demo BSP boot files to my own "petalinux-build" boot, but XSA missing

[Pete Bennewitz]

Dear all,

background: I'm using a Cora-Z7 as starting point to explore the Zyng7000.  My Linux background is solid, with some experience in VHDL on Spartan6 and no previous experience with petalinux or Digilent.

So far: Using the latest (?) Petalinux-Cora-Z7-07S-2017.4-1.bsp as starting point, copying these files:
   tar tvfz Petalinux-Cora-Z7-07S-2017.4-1.bsp --wildcards *pre-built/linux/images/*
to an sdcard resulted in a bootable and accessible system. Serial works, ethernet and ssh works (after adjusting uEnv.txt). So far, so hoopy.

IMHO, the next small step on the learning curve would be to generate my own boot files, adding a helloworld.c userspace and maybe a kernel module. While leaving the PL (FPGA part) of the Zynq untouched for now.

Installing  petalinux-v2024.1-05202009-installer.run  worked, as did
  petalinux-create -t project -s Petalinux-Cora-Z7-07S-2017.4-1.bsp

However, petalinux-config fails with
  [ERROR] No XSA/DTS found in /...../Cora-Z7-07S/project-spec/hw-description

XSA files don't seem to be included in  Petalinux-Cora-Z7-07S-2017.4-1.bsp .
As I understand from Xilinx's PetaLinux Tools Documentation Reference Guide UG1144 (v2022.1) April 26, 2022 , an XSA file details the board and its I/O , and is generated by Vivago. - Then it is used by petalinux to generate the device tree for the ARM kernel.

However, during this step-by-step approach, I would defer Vivago to a later step, if at all possible. Otherwise there seems a good chance that two hefty packages (petalinux and Vivago) manifest a complex djungle with unclear success. The thread in this forum "Trying to learn on the Cora z7 and failing... miserably" of February 2024 seems to be an example (don't know if the answer solved it for user32).

My question:  Can the XSA file (and maybe others that are required) that was used to generate the boot files in Petalinux-Cora-Z7-07S-2017.4-1.bsp by re-used with the 2024.1 tools of petalinux ?  If so, where do I find these files ?

Tests on the bare Cora-Z7 , no PMOD add-ons.

If I have to go through Vivago, are there any known pitfalls with the current 2024 Vivago version and the Cora-Z7 ?
The Cora-7Z seems a bit older with most files dating from 2018.

TIA1e6 , any corrections much appreciated,
best, Peter