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 Making the most of C++ without a performance penalty 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.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. Introduction What Is an Embedded System? Variations on the Theme C: The Least Common Denominator A Few Words About Hardware. 2. Your First Embedded Program Hello, World! Das Blinkenlights The Role of the Infinite Loop. 3. Compiling, Linking, and Locating The Build Process Compiling Linking Locating Building das Blinkenlights. 4. Downloading and Debugging When in ROM - Remote Debuggers Emulators Simulators and Other Tools. 5. Getting to Know the Hardware Understand the Big Picture Examine the Landscape Learn How to Communicate Get to Know the Processor Study the External Peripherals Initialize the Hardware. 6. Memory Types of Memory Memory Testing Validating Memory Contents Working with Flash Memory. 7. Peripherals Control and Status Registers The Device Driver Philosophy A Simple Timer Driver Das Blinkenlights, Revisited 8. Operating Systems History and Purpose A Decent Embedded Operating System Real-Time Characteristics Selection Process 9. Putting It All Together Application Overview Flashing the LED Printing "Hello, World!" Working with Serial Ports The Zilog 85230 Serial Controller. 10. Optimizing Your Code Increasing Code Efficiency Decreasing Code Size Reducing Memory Usage Limiting the Impact of C++ Appendix: Arcom's Target188EB Glossary Bibliography