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.

 

 

Table of Content
Dedication

Preface

Why I Wrote This Book

Intended Audience

Organization

Conventions, Typographical and Otherwise

Obtaining the Examples Online

How to Contact Us

Personal Comments and Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 What Is an Embedded System?

1.2 Variations on the Theme

1.3 C: The Least Common Denominator

1.4 A Few Words About Hardware

Chapter 2. Your First Embedded Program

2.1 Hello, World!

2.2 Das Blinkenlights

2.3 The Role of the Infinite Loop

Chapter 3. Compiling, Linking, and Locating

3.1 The Build Process

3.2 Compiling

3.3 Linking

3.4 Locating

3.5 Building das Blinkenlights

Chapter 4. Downloading and Debugging

4.1 When in ROM

4.2 Remote Debuggers

4.3 Emulators

4.4 Simulators and Other Tools

Chapter 5. Getting to Know the Hardware
5.1 Understand the Big Picture

5.2 Examine the Landscape

5.3 Learn How to Communicate

5.4 Get to Know the Processor

5.5 Study the External Peripherals

5.6 Initialize the Hardware

Chapter 6. Memory

6.1 Types of Memory

6.2 Memory Testing

6.3 Validating Memory Contents

6.4 Working with Flash Memory

Chapter 7. Peripherals

7.1 Control and Status Registers

7.2 The Device Driver Philosophy

7.3 A Simple Timer Driver

7.4 Das Blinkenlights, Revisited

Chapter 8. Operating Systems

8.1 History and Purpose

8.2 A Decent Embedded Operating System

8.3 Real-Time Characteristics

8.4 Selection Process

Chapter 9. Putting It All Together

9.1 Application Overview

9.2 Flashing the LED

9.3 Printing "Hello, World!"

9.4 Working with Serial Ports

9.5 The Zilog 85230 Serial Controller

10.1 Increasing Code Efficiency

10.2 Decreasing Code Size

10.3 Reducing Memory Usage

10.4 Limiting the Impact of C++

Appendix A. Arcom's Target188EB

Glossary