An embedded tip that I often advocate is that developers should avoid using assembly language. The reason for avoiding assembly language is that it is specific to the processor architecture being used, it is difficult to read, understand and maintain. Today, we are going to look at the few areas where I believe it is … Continue reading 4 Uses for Assembly Language
Category: Software Techniques
Book Review: MicroPython Projects
MicroPython Projects is a book for embedded software developers who are interested in branching out and learning how to build systems using Python. The book starts with an exploration of why a developer may want to forgo using C/C++ and instead venture into using MicroPython. The book in general is a project based book that … Continue reading Book Review: MicroPython Projects
Using Callbacks with Interrupts
On a weekly basis, I receive a fair number of emails with questions about how to design embedded systems. One question that seems to be asked more frequently than others is how to write a configurable driver that uses callbacks with interrupts. If a developer is writing a driver that will be reused in multiple … Continue reading Using Callbacks with Interrupts
7 Steps to Create a Stack Monitor
One of the most painstaking bugs to hunt down in an embedded system is when the stack overflows its boundaries and starts to overwrite memory regions that are nearby. The symptoms of stack overflow usually appear randomly when just the perfect storm of interrupts and function calls are occurring which leads them to be difficult … Continue reading 7 Steps to Create a Stack Monitor
5 Tips for Designing a Smart Watchdog
Recovering from a system failure or a software glitch can be no easy task. The longer the fault occurs the harder it can be to identify and recover. The use of an external watchdog is an important and critical tool in the embedded systems engineer toolbox. There are five tips that should be taken into … Continue reading 5 Tips for Designing a Smart Watchdog
7 Steps to Create a Reusable Debounce Algorithm
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
3 Advantages to using a Multicore Microcontroller
Several posts ago, I wrote about how two major trends for the 2020’s was going to be Python as a dominate language and machine learning at the edge. A third trend is that multicore microcontrollers are also going to dominate the industry. That’s right, while multicore has been a technology relegated to application processors and … Continue reading 3 Advantages to using a Multicore Microcontroller
5 Tips for Modernizing Legacy Code
It’s always exciting to start on a new development project, but some of the most interesting and challenging projects to work on in embedded systems can often be how to modernize a legacy code base. There are so many products that are currently on the market that have been in production for years if not … Continue reading 5 Tips for Modernizing Legacy Code
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
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