EmbeddedRelated.com

C++ on microcontrollers 4 – input pins, and decoding a rotary switch

Wouter van Ooijen November 12, 20112 comments

previous parts: 1, 2, 3

 This blog series is about the use of C++ for modern microcontrollers. My plan is to show the gradual development of a basic I/O library. I will introduce the object-oriented C++ features that are used step by step, to provide a gentle yet practical introduction into C++ for C programmers.  Reader input is very much appreciated, you might even steer me in the direction you find most interesting.

So far I...


Modulation Alternatives for the Software Engineer

Jason Sachs November 8, 20111 comment

Before I get to talking about modulation, here's a brief diversion.

A long time ago -- 1993, to be precise -- I took my first course on digital electronics and processors. In that class, we had to buy a copy of the TTL Data Book* from Texas Instruments.

If you have any experience in digital logic design you probably know that TTL stands for Transistor-transistor logic (thereby making the phrase "TTL Logic" an example of RAS...


C++ on microcontrollers 3 – a first shot at an hc595 class with 8 output pins

Wouter van Ooijen November 2, 2011

 previous parts: 1, 2

This blog series is about the use of C++ for modern microcontrollers. My plan is to show the gradual development of a basic I/O library. I will introduce the object-oriented C++ features that are used step by step, to provide a gentle yet practical introduction into C++ for C programmers.  Reader input is very much appreciated, you might even steer me in the direction you find most interesting.

In the first part of...


A true pioneer passes away... A farewell to Ritchie.

Gene Breniman October 15, 20115 comments

We all have our heroes.  We all have people who were important to our professional developments.  For me, Dennis Ritchie was one of those people.  I was an early adopter of the C programming language.  Back in the very early 80's a friend and neighbor had excitedly shared with me his copy of "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie.  At first I was a non-believer.  I had for several years been a happy and productive assembly language...


Using XML to describe embedded devices (and speak to them)

Martin Strubel October 12, 20111 comment

This article discusses one of the typical development cycles in embedded device and communication design and presents a possible, light weight solution using the free DClib/netpp framework.

The challenge

Assume we're faced with the design of an embedded device, be it a simple SoC unit or a more complex, uC controlled engine with various attached peripherals. From first prototype to the market, the following development cycle is typically walked through:


C++ on microcontrollers 1 - introduction, and an output pin class

Wouter van Ooijen October 9, 20117 comments

 

This blog series is about the use of C++ for modern microcontrollers. My plan is to show the gradual development of a basic I/O library. I will introduce the object-oriented C++ features that are used step by step, to provide a gentle yet practical introduction into C++ for C programmers.  Reader input is very much appreciated, you might even steer me in the direction you find most interesting.

I am lazy. I am also a programmer. Luckily, being a lazy...


Kind of Buggy! The state machine fantastic//

Richard Dorfner August 31, 20112 comments

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to experience a lot of different kinds of coding mistakes. There were many that most programmers are familiar with, counting errors, indexing errors (the infamous 'off by one' bug), memory space sharing errors (A threading issue) as well as numerous others.  I ran into one recently that I wound up using an old trick to help find.

My current project is a Pan/Tilt camera that was, upon occasion, not homing properly in one axis. The camera is a...


Get your microcontroller and PC to talk

Jayaraman Kiruthi Vasan August 15, 20115 comments

(and get it done free ‘n’ easy!)

 

The Need

Specifications can dynamically change during the product development cycle. Bosses/clients suddenly approach us with additional requirements, which, however simple, can put us in a fix.  One such requirement could be to have a PC based design interface for a standalone microcontroller project.

On many occasions, the required PC software has to just behave like a slave...


Deeply embedded design example - Logic replacement

Gene Breniman July 9, 2011

I have always believed that some of the low-cost, low-pin count, low-resource microprocessors would make an excellent choice for the replacement of discrete logic components.  In these cases the deeply embedded microprocessor would become less of a general purpose computer and more of a logic replacement, providing a prescribed function with no connection to the outside world.  In a world of bigger, faster and more expensive, it is a pleasant change of pace...


Embedded Software Creation I - Methodologies

Dr. Maykel Alonso June 20, 20112 comments

The first knowledge we need it is to know the posibilities or methodologies that exists to create Software. Each methodology is used to develop diferent types of Software. The types usually are defined by the requeriments and the diferent normative that is related to the type of device. In the next post I will explain how to find the normative@ legislation (link), and how does it work. 

Let's start with methodologies. There are lot's of methodologies and so many people that develop...


Tracing code and checking timings

Richard Dorfner May 25, 20115 comments

Debugging resource limited systemsApplications writers that write code on large systems have it easy. Well, perhaps not easy, but certainly easier. There are some things that they don't have to worry about and there is a huge array of tools available to them when it comes time to debug. The have choices in their toolsets, lots of choices. They also have a large selection of available methods for getting debugging information out to them such as log files, proc entries, pop up dialog boxes or...


Building Linux Kernel for Desktops

Kunal Singh August 9, 20084 comments

Linux Development has made an amazing process in last decade. Different Linux Distributions come with specific tools which greatly ease down the build process for Linux Kernel.

Here is a good introduction to these build tools and build procedure for different Linux Distributions:

Building Kernel for Fedora

Building Kernel for Ubuntu

Building Kernel for Suse...


STM32 VS Code Extension Under The Hood

Peter McLaughlin April 21, 2023

VS Code is becoming the "go to" environment for many developers. Increasingly, toolchain providers are publishing VS Code extensions and ST has recently followed suit. Additionally, CMake is significantly growing in popularity, with many projects adopting it for its ease of use and flexibility. This video shows how the STM32 VS Code extension works under the hood and how to get more out of it.

Specifically, we'll review the CMake files generated by the VS Code extension and how to modify...


Size matters - System success depends on initial design

Gene Breniman April 23, 20111 comment

Too many times during the initial phases of system design, opposing interests start fighting for valuable resources, sometimes without even knowing that they are.  Case in point, a development project is starting up with a very simple product.  For the user interface, Engineering wants to use a very simple character based LCD display and a couple of membrane switches, while Marketing wants a graphic display with a touch screen.  The cost difference between these two items is...


Thumb Rules for Effective Meetings

Kunal Singh October 3, 2007

Meetings are unavoidable at any work place. At most occasions, meetings can be frustrating. We all face meeting-nightmares in our professional life.

I worked on a project, where none of the team-members were ever interested in any kind of group discussion or formal communication. At early stages of the project, no one wanted to be a part of decision making process. During middle-stages of the project, no one wanted to share any status updates or discuss any critical issues. And finally when...


Bringing up Baby - product development thoughts

Gene Breniman August 15, 20085 comments

Things have just started to get exciting. After months of defining, specifying and designing my latest product, I finally have semi-functional prototypes. After a few side steps during the building and bring-up process, power is applied and most of the low level functions have been verified. Soon, software will meet hardware and debugging can begin in earnest.

Before jumping in and really enjoying the fun (besides I'm now waiting for some new parts to arrive), I thought it would be nice to...


“Smarter” cars, unintended acceleration – and unintended consequences

Michael J. Pont October 20, 20151 comment

In this article, I consider some recent press reports relating to embedded software in the automotive sector.

In The Times newspaper (London, 2015-10-16) the imminent arrival of Tesla cars that “use autopilot technology to park themselves and change lane without intervention from the driver” was noted.

By most definitions, the Tesla design incorporates what is sometimes called “Artificial Intelligence” (AI).Others might label it a “Smart” (or at least “Smarter”)...


Hello Android

Kunal Singh May 5, 20081 comment

Finally I could get Android Early SDK up and running on my Fedora Core-7 Machine.

The process was quite simple. However I had to struggle for a few days, because Fedora install the gnu version of Java and Android requires Java from Sun.

Here are the steps I had to follow:

(1) Install the eclipse IDE (if you do not have it already) with following command:

$> yum install eclipse-jdt eclipse-jdt-sdk (to be done as super user).

(2) now install the Android SDK and ADT plug-in for Eclipse...


It starts with an LED

Richard Dorfner May 13, 20114 comments

And slowly builds up from there.

I have been an embedded software engineer for many years. I was programming when I was a teenager before then, as a high school student involved in an NSF program called "National Science Foundation Summer Science Training Program (for High School Students)" or as we would rattle off during that summer of exquisite learning, NSFSSTP. We were taught to program in Fortran and taught the fundamentals of Calculus. It was a very enriching experience.

When it...


Embedded Space & Software Development Practices

Kunal Singh December 5, 20074 comments

Embedded Programmers (at least the ones I know) are mostly at liberty to ignore the basic software development best practices, thanks to the simplicity of embedded applications. But, as the embedded processors are becoming more and more powerful, this situation might change soon. In coming years the embedded software applications are bound to become more complex (some embedded segments have already seen this change). Embedded programmers need to realize this inevitable change and start...