I love embedded systems. The first time a motor turned because I told it to, I was hooked. I quickly moved away from pure software and into a field where I can touch the world. Just as I was leaving software, the seminal work was done on design patterns.[1] My team went through the book, discussing the patterns and where weâd consider using them. As I got more into embedded systems, I found compilers that couldnât handle C++ inheritance, processors with absurdly small amounts of memory in which to implement the patterns, and a whole new set of problems where design patterns didnât seem applicable. But I never forgot the idea that there are patterns to the way we do engineering. By learning to recognize the patterns, we can use the robust solutions over and over. So much of this book looks at standard patterns and offers some new ones for embedded system development. Iâve also filled in a number of chapters with other useful information not found in most books.
After seeing embedded systems in medical devices, race cars, airplanes, childrenâs toys, and gunshot location systems, Iâve found a lot of commonalities. There are a lot of things I wish I knew then on how to go about designing and implementing software for an embedded system. This book contains some of what Iâve learned. It is a book about good software design in resource-constrained environments.
It is also a book about understanding what interviewers look for when you apply for an embedded systems job. Each section ends with an interview question. These are generally not language specific; instead, they attempt to divine how you think. Good interview questions donât have a single correct answer. Instead of trying to document all the paths, the notes after each question provide hints about what an interviewer might look for in your response. Youâll have to get the job (and the answers) on your own merits.
One note, though: my embedded systems donât have operating systems. The software runs on the bare metal. When the software says âturn that light on,â it says it to the processor without an intermediary. This isnât a book about an embedded operating system (OS). But the concepts translate to processors running OSs, so if you stick around, you may learn about the undersides of OSs too. Working without one helps you really appreciate what an OS does.
This book describes the archetypes and principles that are commonly used in creating embedded system software. I donât cover any particular platform, processor, compiler, or language, because if you get a good foundation from this book, specifics can come later.
In the field of embedded systems, I have worked on DNA scanners, inertial measurement units for airplanes and race cars, toys for preschoolers, a gunshot location system for catching criminals, and assorted medical and consumer devices.
I have specialized in signal processing, hardware integration, complex system design, and performance. Having been through FAA and FDA certification processes, I understand the importance of producing high-quality designs and how they lead to high-quality implementations.
Iâve spent several years in management roles, but I enjoy hands-on engineering and the thrill of delivering excellent products. Iâm happy to say that leaving management has not decreased my opportunities to provide leadership and mentoring.
This book didnât happen in a vacuum. It started with a colleague who said, âHey, do you know a book I can give to one of my junior engineers?â From that planted seed came months of writing; I learned to really appreciate understanding (and encouraging) friends. Then there were the engineers who gave their time to look at the technical material (any remaining issues are my fault, not theirs, of course). Finally, OâReilly provided tremendous support through the whole process.
Thanking each person as they properly deserve would take pages and pages, so I will just go through them all in one breath, in no particular order: Phillip King, Ken Brown, Jerry Ryle, Matthew Hughes, Eric Angell, Scott Fitzgerald, John Catsoulis, Robert P. J. Day, Rebecca Demarest, and Jen Costillo. These folks made a difference in the flavor of this book. There are additional thank-yous spread throughout the book, where I got help from a particular person on a particular area, so you may see these names again (or a few different ones).
Two people are left out of that list. Andy Oram is an excellent editor at OâReilly, and I was lucky to get him. Heâs made a big difference to this book and to my writing. Finally, authors always give gushing thanks to their spouses; it is a cliché. However, having written a book, I see why. Christopher White, my favorite drummer, physicist, and embedded systems engineer, thank you most of all. For everything.
I read nonfiction for amusement. I read a lot more fiction than nonfiction, but still, I like any good book. I wrote this book to be read almost as a story, from cover to cover. The information is technical (extremely so in spots), but the presentation is casual. You donât need to program along with it to get the material (though trying out the examples and applying the recommendations to your code will give you a deeper understanding).
This isnât intended to be a technical manual where you can skip into the middle and read only what you want. I mean, you can do that, but youâll miss a lot of information with the search-and-destroy method. Youâll also miss the jokes, which is what I really would feel bad about. I hope that you go through the book in order. Then, when you are hip-deep in alligators and need to implement a function fast, pick up the book, flip to the right chapter, and, like a wizard, whip up a command table or fixed point implementation of variance.
Or you can skip around, reading about solutions to your crisis of the week. I understand. Sometimes you just have to solve the problem. If that is the case, I hope you find the chapter interesting enough to come back when you are done fighting that fire.
The order of chapters is:
- Chapter 1, Introduction
What is an embedded system? How is development different from traditional software?
- Chapter 2, Creating a System Architecture
How to create (and document) a system architecture.
- Chapter 3, Getting Your Hands on the Hardware
Hardware/software integration during board bring-up can be scary, but there are some ways to make it smoother.
- Chapter 4, Outputs, Inputs, and Timers
The embedded systems version of âHello Worldâ is making an LED blink. It can be more complex than you might expect.
- Chapter 5, Managing the Flow of Activity
This chapter describes how to set up your system, where to use interrupts (and how not to), and how to make a state machine.
- Chapter 6, Communicating with Peripherals
Different serial communication forms rule embedded systems (UART, SSP, SPI, I2C, USB, etc.). Networking, bit-bang, and parallel buses are not to be discounted.
- Chapter 7, Updating Code
When you need to replace the program running in your processor, you have a few options ranging from internal updaters to building your own solution.
- Chapter 8, Doing More with Less
This covers methods for reducing consumption of RAM, code space, and processor cycles.
- Chapter 9, Math
Most embedded systems need to do some form of analysis. Understanding how mathematical operations and floating points work (and donât work) will make your system faster.
- Chapter 10, Reducing Power Consumption
From reducing processor cycles to system architecture suggestions, this chapter will help you if your system runs on batteries.
The information is presented in the order that I want my engineers to start thinking about these things. It may seem odd that architecture is first, considering that most people donât get to it until later in their careers. However, I want the people I work with to be thinking about how their code fits in the system long before I want them to worry about optimization.
The following typographical conventions are used in this book:
- Italic
Indicates new terms, URLs, filenames, and file extensions.
Constant widthUsed for program listings, as well as within paragraphs to refer to program elements such as variable or function names, data types, and keywords.
Tip
This icon signifies a tip, suggestion, or general note.
Warning
This icon indicates a warning or caution.
A microcontroller is a processor with onboard goodies like RAM, code space (usually flash), and various peripheral interfaces (e.g., I/O lines). Your code runs on a processor, or central processing unit (CPU). A microprocessor is a small processor, but the definition of âsmallâ changes.
A DSP (digital signal processor) is a specialized form of microcontroller that focuses on signal processing, usually sampling analog signals and doing something interesting with the result. Usually a DSP is also a microcontroller, but it has special tweaks to make it perform math operations faster (in particular, multiply and add).
As I wrote this book, I wanted to use the correct terminology so youâd get used to it. However, with so many names for the piece of the system that is running your code, I didnât want to add confusion by changing the name. So, I stick with the term processor to represent whatever it is youâre using to implement your system. Most of the material is applicable to whatever you actually have.
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[1] Gamma, Erich, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, and John Vlissides, 1995. Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software. Boston: Addison-Wesley.
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