Mentor Blogs

I recently wrote about the importance of being able to visualize trace data to make sense of all the information that we can now capture with LTTng 2.0 We recently received the results of a customer survey where we got some good feedback on areas you’d like to see us increase our development efforts. Debug tools, multi-core design tools and profiling tools were near the top of the list. This is … Read More

Trace, Multicore

On my quest to continue to learn more about embedded systems development I was able to attend LinuxCon 2012 One of the sessions I attended was an update by Mathieu Desnoyers (author and maintainer) on LTTng 2.0 The Sourcery Analyzer trace and analysis tool from Mentor Embedded makes use of LTTng and I’m in meetings where we discuss the benefits of LTTng 2.0 so I was happy to have gotten an overview … Read More

Multicore, Trace

Mentor recently shared OpenMCAPI, our MCAPI implementation, with the world under an open source license (BSD). We’re proud of it because it was especially designed for portability, and while it’s sophisticated enough to offer advanced features like asynchronous communication, it’s simple enough that it can be easily understood and deployed on low-resource embedded systems. So what … Read More

Multi-OS, MCAPI, Multicore, AMP, Linux

As Yogi Berra once said, “It’s déjà vu, all over again.” I was out at a customer helping them debug a multi-core system. Unlike my Sudoku solver, this was not a multi-threaded SMP application. The customer had 4 processes, each running on a different core and specifically tied to that core. While all the programs were running under the same operating system – the designer did not rely on the OS … Read More

Multicore, tracing, Debug

Multicore is a hot topic at the moment. The subject crops up in numerous articles and I have written about it before. Surveys suggest that, before long, more than half of embedded designs will be implemented using multiple CPUs. There are broadly two hardware architectures: homogeneous multicore, where there are numerous identical cores, and heterogeneous multicore, where the cores differ in architecture. … Read More

Networking, Multicore, Nucleus, Multi-OS

I was recently asked to participate in a “panel” article in a UK electronics publication. The topic was the apparent decline importance of hardware design, over software design, in embedded systems. An interesting subject - I needed to be careful what I said, as I work for a company where 90% of my colleagues are hardware design specialists! The final piece can be seen here. I was sent … Read More

Multicore, RTOS, hardware design

I never cared for really long blog entries, so I’m splitting this up into a couple of posts. If you missed my last post you’ll want to go back and read it – or you’ll probably be hopelessly lost as we dive into my multi-core Sudoku solving dilemma. As you’ll recall, last time I took my clever Sudoku solver and ran it on an 8 core PPC design, and found I got a 3 X speed up. When I looked into why, it … Read More

ppc, profiling, Multicore

Yeah, it’s been a while since my last blog post. Of course, it’s all about the software, but in blogging it’s all about content – and keeping it fresh. So, here I am, with some fresh content. I took a new job here at Mentor and now I’m working in our Embedded Software Division. Despite being employed by a hardware tools company I think that this software stuff is going to be around for a while. … Read More

ppc, profiling, Multicore

Crystal ball gazing is a hazardous activity. However, this week I am going to take the risk. I have the honor of having been invited to present a keynote speech at a technical conference in Grenoble, France. Although I speak at conferences frequently, I normally have some constraints with the topic - normally I am presenting a paper, an abstract for which was submitted and accepted months before. On … Read More

Multicore, User Interface, Low Power, Android, Inflexion

Last week I attended the ARM Technical Conference in Santa Clara, California. I am not sure how many years this event has been running, but it seems to be going from strength to strength. There was a change to the management company this year, but the event format was basically the same: a 3 day multiple-stream technical conference, with a selection of keynotes and an associated exhibition area. Obviously, … Read More

Low Power, User Interface, MCAPI, ARM, Multicore, Android

I have pondered before the appropriateness of Linux for embedded applications. My initial stance was clear enough: I could see very little sense in it. Why use a desktop operating system in such a completely different context? Over the years, the popularity of embedded Linux has increased, the technology of embedded systems has moved on and I have reappraised my views accordingly. With Mentor Embedded … Read More

Multi-OS, Multicore, Linux

I have always for medical electronics interesting and I have blogged about it from time to time [here and here, for example]. Part of the reason for my interest stems from an occasional feeling that so much of the electronics around me is ultimately pointless. Many Mentor Embedded customers are making consumer devices, cell phones and other gadgets. Do we really need all of these? Aren’t they really … Read More

Android, User Interface, Linux, Networking, Inflexion UI, Low Power, Nucleus, Multicore, Medical, RTOS

Multicore continues to be a hot topic. Recent Web seminars, that we have run, were well attended, with lots of searching questions. I have discussed the subject here before, looking at the differences between AMP [Asymmetric Multi-Processing] and SMP [Symmetric Multi-Processing], for example. In various recent discussions with colleagues and customers, I have realized that there is more clarification … Read More

Nucleus, Multi-OS, AMP, Multicore, RTOS, SMP, MCAPI

At the heart of most mil/aero electronics—and arguably the most important component of current electronics systems is the processor. Virtually all mil/aero electronics take advantage of processors of one sort or another, whether x86, powerPC, RISC, FPGA, 32-bit, or 64-bit. Many different types of processing devices are employed by the modern warfighter, in fact. Today’s soldier, fed up with being made … Read More

Hardware, Engineer, Design Automation, Milaero, Computer, Warfighters, Mentor Graphics, x86, COTS, Geek, osbourne executive, Multicore, Thermal, Mentor, Mil-Aero, UAV, powerpc, Embedded Systems, Military, Silicon, Electronic, battlefield, soldier, soldiers

Processors are rapidly advancing the state of the art in the commercial world, and the mil/aero community is anxious to reap the benefits of the technology. Moore’s Law, which states that the number of transistors placed on an integrated circuit will double every two years, has taken on a slightly different look and feel as we are reach the physical limits of transistor density in a single core. We … Read More

DoD, Hardware, Silicon, Computer, Mentor, Design Automation, Moore's Law, soldiers, Mentor Graphics, Electric, Military, Multicore, Warfighters, battlefield, moore, Gordon E. Moore, Electronic, Mil-Aero, Embedded Systems, Engineer, Milaero, Aerospace, network-centric, Geek, soldier