A quick google search reveals that there are over 212,000 websites that examine how to debounce a button. After examining a number of them it is obvious that these implementations are not meant for reuse. The implementations and strategies often lack scalability, the ability to debounce multiple buttons easily and portability. They are tightly coupled … Continue reading 7 Steps to Create a Reusable Debounce Algorithm
Category: Embedded Basics
3 Painless Tips for Writing Documentation
Writing documentation is not the most exciting endeavor an engineer can embark on. It’s often boring, time consuming, and there are so many more interesting things that could be done. It sometimes amazes me how poorly development projects are documented if they are even documented at all. Documentation is meant to help preserve important concepts … Continue reading 3 Painless Tips for Writing Documentation
5 Tips for Versioning Embedded Systems
One topic that can be tricky for embedded systems engineers is how to version their embedded system. Every embedded system has two primary systems that need to be versioned, the hardware and the software. While versioning the system sounds simple, it can be confusing on the best way to version the system. In this post, … Continue reading 5 Tips for Versioning Embedded Systems
The 8 Pillars of Embedded Software
Successfully developing and launching an embedded system requires a wide skill range and engineering disciplines. Every embedded systems requires knowledge in eight distinct software development areas. The degree to which developers have mastered the 8 pillars of embedded software will directly affect development costs, code scalability, system robustness among other critical development metrics. Let’s examine … Continue reading The 8 Pillars of Embedded Software
Developing an Embedded Software Build Pipeline
One interesting fact that I’ve noticed about embedded software development is that development processes and techniques tend to lag the general software industry. When I first started to write embedded software back in the late 1990’s, the focus seemed to be on moving away from writing assembly language and adopting C along with the best … Continue reading Developing an Embedded Software Build Pipeline
5 Roles for Python in Real-time Embedded Systems
Python has become quite the trending program language over the last few years. Named after the famous Monty Python comedy group, the language is object oriented and interpreted (not compiled) which has resulted in it being adopted on many platforms such as Linux, Windows, and on single board computers such as the Raspberry Pi. With … Continue reading 5 Roles for Python in Real-time Embedded Systems
7 Sections Every Company Coding Standard Should Include
Developing a company coding standard is absolutely critical to ensuring that every embedded developer is on the same page. A coding standard tells a developer many of the do’s and don’ts that they need in order to write legible, reviewable software that achieves the businesses desired quality level with the least number of defects possible. … Continue reading 7 Sections Every Company Coding Standard Should Include
Getting Started with JSON for Embedded Developers
For decades embedded software developers worked on products that were stand-alone and did not require any internet access. Over the past decade or so, the number of products that are connected to the internet has grown exponentially and with it, embedded developers have been forced to learn the underlying technologies required to communicate in a … Continue reading Getting Started with JSON for Embedded Developers
10 Pain-free Steps to Configure an Interrupt Controller
Properly setting up interrupts on a microcontroller isn’t easy. The number of times an engineer has setup interrupts in their career doesn’t seem to make a difference. Configuring interrupts always has some gotcha hidden away that leaves the developer scratching their head and seeking answers in an obscure data sheet or online code snippet. Thankfully … Continue reading 10 Pain-free Steps to Configure an Interrupt Controller
7 Tips for Creating a Reliable Embedded System
Despite the hopes and dreams of many embedded engineers, reliable code doesn’t happen by accident. It is a painstaking process that requires developers to maintain and manage every bit and byte of the system. There is usually a sigh of relief when an application is validated “successfully” but just because the software is running correctly … Continue reading 7 Tips for Creating a Reliable Embedded System