Embedded Software Blog

Most of the time, I subscribe to the view that “the only stupid question is the one you did not ask”. However, I do have trouble with a question that I have been asked countless times at trade-shows, seminars etc. The question is “How much memory does Nucleus RTOS need?” It is not that this is a stupid question. It is very sensible to be fully aware of resource utilization with … Read More

memory footprint, Nucleus, RTOS

Once again, I am thinking about embedded software and low power design, as I have discussed before. I still find it interesting that a characteristic of electronic devices, which until only recently would have been considered purely a hardware issue, is now very much on the agenda for software developers. The challenge now is to keep up with the capabilities provided by the chip makers … There … Read More

Low Power, Nucleus, RTOS

Last week, I attended the Embedded Developers’ Forum in Munich, Germany. This is an increasingly common type of event – a small conference, with a somewhat broad subject coverage, with multiple streams offering a greater level of specialization. In this case, there were about 4 “mini-conferences”. I was presenting in part of the Embedded Software event. Another set of streams … Read More

Nucleus, RTOS

I have often observed that the world of embedded software is usually dominated by a small number of “fashionable” topics – technology that everybody is talking and/or concerned about. The key one just now, which I have discussed before, is the influence that software has on device power consumption. This is a topic to which I will certainly return. A number of the Mentor Embedded … Read More

Freescale, FTF, RTOS, Low Power, Nucleus

An article by my colleague Faheem Sheikh has just been published in EE Times, which covers multicore thread synchronization. Apart from the interesting topic of the piece, it is also an opportunity to learn more about symmetric multi-processing [SMP] – an option increasingly available for real time operating systems, like Nucleus. … Read More

multi-core, Nucleus, SMP, RTOS

Nowadays, there is a perception that the higher end embedded CPU is dominated by ARM. Obviously, these devices are very popular, as evidenced by the various ARM Tech Con events around the world. However, I remember the world before ARM, when “embedded 32-bit device” meant Motorola 68000 family. Motorola Semiconductor became Freescale, who are still a force to be reckoned with. Freescale’s … Read More

Freescale, FTF, Low Power, Nucleus

I have posted a couple of times recently [like here] about a recent webinar that I conducted on measuring RTOS performance. This is a topic that appears to be of significant interest to most RTOS users, so I thought it might be a good time to pick up on a key detail of the issue. My colleague Rizwan Rasheed suggested a little while ago that the measurement and specification of RTOS interrupt latency … Read More

interrupt latency, Nucleus, RTOS

As I mentioned previously, I presented a Web seminar last week. The topic was the measurement of RTOS performance. To be frank, I was unsure how popular this might be, though I have found that, at conferences, the topic seems to draw a reasonable audience, so I was quietly optimistic. As it turned out, there was a very good attendance, with lots of questions, which kept me busy right up until the end … Read More

Nucleus, RTOS

There is still a common misconception that a real time system is simply one that responds quickly to demands. Although a real time system may, indeed, be fast, its key characteristic is predictability. A real time system is deterministic – its response to an event will occur in a timely fashion, neither too quickly nor too slowly. It is common to use a real time operating system [RTOS - like … Read More

Nucleus, RTOS, Webinar

I was having some trouble with my Internet connection recently. I will probably never know exactly what was wrong [as ADSL is, for intents and purposes, magic], but investigating the problem was interesting. I am not a networking specialist, so I would expect that messing with the settings inside a router would be hard, but the manufacturers have made it very simple. I began to wonder why there are … Read More

HTTP, Networking, Web, Nucleus

I am not really sure that I should be promoting this, but here goes … When I was at ESC the other week, I made the mistake of not hiding or looking frantically busy at some point. The result was that I got interviewed by some guys from ARM about the Stella robot that we were showing and the Nucleus RTOS that powers her. It has now been posted on YouTube. I do not think that this one is going … Read More

Nucleus, ARM

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