Actions
Forum Thread Details
  • Replies 34 replies
  • Subscribers 244 subscribers
  • Views 4671 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Related

If I Had a Hammer

jack.chaney56

I used this as a clever draw to get more readers.  The actual intent is to start a discussion and get input from people for software.  Most of the discussions I have seen on the site are about inventing hardware solutions to popular problems.  I guess I am getting overloaded with how many ways there are to turn on an LED.  A significant amount of computer work is actually in the realm of information technology,  Too often what is lacking are skilled individuals that bring an array of tools to the task. The expression "If the only tool you have is a hammer, all your problems look like nails" is a problem I deal with in my professional life. I am constantly faced with vendors who provide the one pony circus (a million ways to make a state machine).

 

Embedded programming is a discipline that requires the developer to be expert at OS scheduling, database management, hardware interfacing, design architecture, and structured objects, as well as proper coding style, and best solution language. It is a constant process of sharpening the tool set to get the best solution. I have taken to putting some tools into retirement as well. Archiving example code and hint/help files is done periodically so I don't have to keep my COBOL skills current, but, by archiving properly, it is possible with a bit of effort, to blow the dust off a few brain cells, and get back in step with my Fortran lines starting in column 7. (...how old is this guy?)

 

Getting back to where I started with this, I wanted to put a call out to all you embedded PROGRAMMERS for tips and techniques and tricks learned that can become the foundation for tool boxes.

 

Tips like:

  • Thinking like a computer
  • Faster graphics and ray tracing
  • Integer only formulas
  • Weight loss (or wait loss) compression
  • T...I...M...I...N...G...

 

Again, some of these are done with hardware these days, but not all solutions have bottomless bank accounts. Sometimes a one chip 8-bit piece of hardware needs to run an 8 cylinder diesel fueling operation.

Parents

  • Hi Jack,

     

    I can sympathize.

    Using high level programming languages hide a lot of detail you need to learn when going into embedded programming.

    Luckily I learned assembly language programming on an old PDP-11 minicomputer.

    That experience put me in a great position to dive into all of the microprocessors that came out after.

     

    I think you will find most work today is done in C, which in my opinion was a slight step above assembly language, but is reasonable simple to learn and use.

    Depending upon the vender you choose, most have extensive support libraries to implement both simple and complex applications on their products.

    Embedded operating systems get interesting.  In my day, yes I am probably older than you, we made simple control systems when we could and used more exotic OS products when the situation warranted it.

    I have built some very complex systems without needing an OS, but at the time, I had a great understanding of how the processors worked and how to exploit interrupts.

     

    Timing analysis was my forte, and I did some amazing things just by understanding how to fit functions together using interrupt timers and sometimes hardware additions.

     

    Everyone likes inexpensive tools and there are a host of those available free today.

    Arduino, Texas Instruments, Raspberry Pi, MBED, Pickit, and others have excellent free support tools.

     

    Take a good look at Energia, the Russians are making excellent progress with that tool to keep embedded software simple.

    They provide very useful examples and have very useful debugging tools.  I wish this type of support had been around in my day.  I used to chase things with an Oscope and logic analyzer.  Both very expensive at the time.

     

    There are also a number of free Operating Systems that you can pick up and learn.  Just be aware, it takes a while to get really proficient with each one.  My biggest problem with them is that you need to learn is what each OS does TO you.  Each OS has interesting implementations to efficiently facilitate your application.  Each can do interesting thing to your embedded software design, especially timing.

     

     

    So feel free to set up a list of questions, pick a vendor to focus on, and get started.

    I like TI, because they have a copious amount of documentation, a good of small to complex devices, all of which you can program with or without an OS using Energia or Code Composer Studio (CCS).

    Luckily, there is plenty of support on the web for most of the processor lines, it just depends on what you want to do and how complex you want to get.

     

    DAB

  • in reply to DAB

    Woth similar background, I totally agree with you!

     

    Enrico

Reply Children
No Data