Programming Embedded Systems In C And C++

Embedded software is in almost every electronic device designed today. There is software hidden away inside our watches, microwaves, VCRs, cellular telephones, and pagers; the military uses embedded software to guide smart missiles and detect enemy aircraft; communications satellites, space probes, and modern medicine would be nearly impossible without it. Of course, someone has to write all that software, and there are thousands of computer scientists, electrical engineers, and other professionals who actually do.

Each embedded system is unique and highly customized to the application at hand. As a result, embedded systems programming is a widely varying field that can take years to master. However, if you have some programming experience and are familiar with C or C++, you're ready to learn how to write embedded software. The hands-on, no-nonsense style of this book will help you get started by offering practical advice from someone who's been in your shoes and wants to help you learn quickly.

The techniques and code examples presented here are directly applicable to real-world embedded software projects of all sorts. Even if you've done some embedded programming before, you'll still benefit from the topics in this book, which include:

• Testing memory chips quickly and efficiently
  
• Writing and erasing Flash memory
  
• Verifying nonvolatile memory contents with CRCs
  
• Interfacing to on-chip and external peripherals
  
• Device driver design and implementation
  
• Optimizing embedded software for size and speed

So whether you're writing your first embedded program, designing the latest generation of hand-held whatchamacalits, or simply managing the people who do, this book is for you.

About the Authors
Michael Barr is the founder and president of Netrino, a provider of software engineering services and shareware for embedded systems. Netrino encourages all of its employees to share their technical expertise by writing magazine articles and books and by speaking at industry conferences. An archive of these various publications is maintained on their website, at http://www.netrino.com.

Michael earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland. He has spent most of his career so far developing embedded software, device drivers, and real-time operating systems. Michael also enjoys writing and teaching and looks forward to starting his next book; he is currently considering several ideas, including at least one novel.