Mentor Blogs

I have historically been somewhat skeptical about open source software [OSS]. I am always wary of anything that is “free” and subscribe to the TANSTAAFL ["there ain't no such thing as a free lunch"] principle. It has taken me quite a few years to understand that open software is not free – it is just a different business model from the usual “we make it, you buy it” approach. I … Read More

Linux, Nucleus

Well, tomorrow is the big day. ESC San Jose 2012 [now part of DESIGN West] runs for 3 days and looks set to be an excellent show for anyone interested in embedded systems software or hardware. I recently outlined our plans for the Mentor Embedded booth, but we now have more details … Our booth is set to be a hive of activity, with a continuous program of technical briefings in the theater and … Read More

Nucleus, Embedded Systems Conference, DESIGN West, Linux, Yocto

This week sees the 10th anniversary of the Embedded World conference in Nuremberg, Germany. This show and conference has been growing steadily over the years and I guess it is now the biggest event devoted to embedded systems in the world. I am fortunate enough to attend Embedded World most years, as I reported here and here, and this year is no exception. I have two papers in the conference: “USB … Read More

Embedded World, Nucleus, USB, RTOS

For quite a few years, the need to update the primary protocol used by the Internet – the Internet Protocol or IP – has been apparent and has been becoming increasingly urgent. There are a number of reasons why a protocol designed in the 1970s is inadequate for the 21st Century, but addressing capacity is the really urgent issue. I think it’s amazing that IPv4 [I have no idea what … Read More

IPv6, NAT, Wi-Fi, Networking, Nucleus

As I spend a lot of my time talking about embedded software via a variety of media – conferences, articles, Web seminars, this blog are examples – I frequently get emails requesting copies of materials or posing questions. All of this communication is very welcome and I do my best to respond promptly and, where I can, usefully. If I think a question might be of wider interest, it seems … Read More

Nucleus, Android

Last week I wrote about a test harness for applications using an RTOS. The idea was to have a library of functions corresponding to the API calls of a particular RTOS. Specific tasks of an application, that are under test, would be linked to this library to enable the code to be executed on a desktop computer in a useful way. I had some feedback on this posting from a couple of people, talking about … Read More

Debugging, API, RTOS, test harness, Nucleus

I was talking about OS-aware debuggers and someone asked me whether I could suggest a technique for unit testing of code for a multi-threaded application. It took me a while before I could fully understand what they were after, but it did become clear eventually. They were considering an environment where a number of engineers were working on an embedded application [using Nucleus]. Each guy was developing … Read More

Nucleus, test harness, Debugging, RTOS, API

Somebody asked me: “What is the plural of Linux?” Maybe it is Linuxes. That sounds a bit messy, which seems rather appropriate really… If we think about the desktop world and buying application software, you might have a Windows PC or a Mac or perhaps you run Linux. It is typical for the spec for an application to discuss hardware and OS compatibility. There will normally be ridiculously … Read More

Linux, Nucleus, RTOS

As I am on vacation, I thought that I would invite colleagues to provide a guest blog and Faheem Sheikh came up with the goods … Multicore embedded designs are becoming increasingly common – a topic that I have addressed before. This presents some new challenges to software developers. Faheem was talking to an existing user of our Nucleus RTOS, who is considering a multicore design and, … Read More

multi-core, device drivers, Nucleus SMP, SMP, Nucleus

Just a quick “heads up”. If you are interested in the selection of an operating system for embedded applications [a topic I discussed briefly here] you might like to attend a Web seminar that I am presenting later this week. The session will be less than one hour, including live Q&A. The live session will be on Thursday at 9:00 Pacific and an archive recording will be available after … Read More

Linux, multi-core, RTOS, Multi-OS, Nucleus

Embedded software development tools are important to all developers and a topic that I frequently discuss [like here]. The way such tools are described by vendors is interesting. For example, there might be a reference to an “optimizing compiler”. That is rather meaningless, as all compilers are optimizing to at least some degree. For an embedded compiler, the important factors are the quality … Read More

RTOS, Development Tools, Debugging, profiling, Nucleus

I recently talked about the process that might be applied to the selection of an embedded operating system and I hope that these guidelines are useful. I am currently working on a Web seminar on this topic, so I would welcome any input. However, developers tend to stick with a particular OS [or, at least, with a particular OS vendor] – recent research suggested that only about 20% of developers … Read More

Linux, API, RTOS, Nucleus

I was recently approached for help by a Mentor Graphics customer, who was planning a new project and needed to select an operating system. They wanted guidance with that choice. Of course, one is tempted to say that it does not matter which of our products they chose [as, between them, Nucleus RTOS and Mentor Embedded Linux do cover most possibilities], but I felt they needed something more objective. There … Read More

Windows CE, Source Code, Linux, Low Power, RTOS, Networking, Nucleus

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

The Apple iVolution has been going strong since the initial release of the iPod on October 23, 2001. Apple has significantly impacted cultures around the world; you can’t go around a corner these days without seeing the tell-tale white ear buds hanging from someone’s ears. iPods were so successful that they were followed up with a touchscreen variant, the iPod Touch, which was followed by the hugely … Read More

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