Embedded software configuration management can be a tricky endeavor. Systems today are often designed to work in multiple products, for various customers, over long-time frames. These systems require the ability to be easily configured so that the code does not become a nightmare and minimize the chances of improperly configuring them. In this post, we … Continue reading 3 Tips for Embedded Software Configuration Management
Category: Design Cycle
3 Overlooked Embedded Software Elements
Have you ever wondered, while you and your team are busy writing software if the very foundation of how embedded software systems are built has changed and left you in the dust? What if while you were busily focusing on getting your product out the door, fighting bugs, and dealing with supply issues, there were … Continue reading 3 Overlooked Embedded Software Elements
5 Tips for Becoming More Agile
Nearly every embedded software team I encounter is interested in becoming more agile. Adopting Agile practices can dramatically improve how agile a team is. Businesses and developers all want to be able to deliver faster. We don’t want the headache of late and buggy code, yet we often just accept that is what life is … Continue reading 5 Tips for Becoming More Agile
5 Tips for Rapid Prototyping with the Raspberry Pi Pico
Over the last several years, Raspberry Pi’s have proliferated into all sorts of applications. As a microcontroller-focused embedded software consultant, I’ve always found them fun and interesting, but not exactly my cup of tea. However, in January 2021, the Raspberry Pi Pico was released which at its heart has an RP2040 dual-core microcontroller based on … Continue reading 5 Tips for Rapid Prototyping with the Raspberry Pi Pico
5 C++ Tricks for C Programmers
Over the past several years, C++ has become a more popular language to use in embedded systems than C. Don’t get me wrong, C will continue to be a dominant language for years to come, but C++ offers developers modern tools to leverage when designing more reusable, scalable, and portable code. Teams aren’t just abandoning … Continue reading 5 C++ Tricks for C Programmers
Solutions to the 7 Silent Project Killers
Several years ago, I wrote an article entitled “The 7 Silent Project Killers”. Over the years, I’ve had several people comment, email, and request that I also provide potential solutions. I’ve generally, tongue in cheek, commented that I save those for my clients. However, in today’s post, we’ll explore a few potential solutions to several … Continue reading Solutions to the 7 Silent Project Killers
Getting Started with Cpputest for Embedded Applications
Unit testing application code in embedded applications is a fundamental need that embedded developers often overlook. At first, glance, getting a unit test harness up and running can seem complicated. However, developers can get a unit test harness environment up and running relatively quickly. This post will explore Cpputest and how developers can leverage existing … Continue reading Getting Started with Cpputest for Embedded Applications
5 RTOS Design Best Practices
RTOS design has become critical to many embedded applications. RTOSes are used in more than 50% of embedded applications and with so many devices becoming connected and starting to use machine learning, those numbers will only go up. When designing an RTOS-based application, there are many caveats and it is easy to overlook best practices. … Continue reading 5 RTOS Design Best Practices
Embedded Software Development using Gitlab
One of my favorite tools for managing embedded DevOps is Gitlab. Embedded software teams across the globe are starting to recognize that software process modernization is critical to keeping software quality high, doing more with fewer resources, and keeping up with the competition. In order to do so, DevOps tools are necessary. In this post, … Continue reading Embedded Software Development using Gitlab
3 Tips for Successfully Simulating Embedded Software
As an embedded software engineer, it’s really easy to think that all the software for the product is reliant upon the hardware. Most embedded developers that I encounter want to get a development board right out of the gate and start writing software, including myself most of the time. It’s not necessarily wrong, it’s just … Continue reading 3 Tips for Successfully Simulating Embedded Software