Some weeks ago, I published a posting from my colleague Richard Vlamynck, who was explaining the ideas behind System-C and modeling at different levels of abstraction. He promised to write more and I was very pleased to receive a new contribution …
It’s just me again, blogging about hardware models in general and System-C in particular.
Earlier, I’d mentioned the fact that System-C can be used … Read More
Tags: Programming Languages, VHDL, System-C, Precision, Handel-C, Verilog
I recent wrote about the similarity in software and hardware design, as they are both performed by writing code in a high level programming language. My colleague Richard Vlamynck, wrote to me, suggesting that he might be able to usefully expand on this topic. He is an unusual guy, even within Mentor Graphics, as he is a modern day “Renaissance man” – he has a very good understanding … Read More
Tags: Precision, C, VHDL, Programming Languages, System-C
As I work for a company that has traditionally had a strong focus on hardware design, I am particularly interested in the relationship between hardware and software development and the synergies between the two disciplines.
Previously, I have discussed the dominance of software in modern designs [here] and the relationships in the EDA world [here]. But today I want to think about how hardware guys … Read More
Tags: Hardware, C, Verilog, VHDL, hardware design, Programming Languages
I was, of course, saddened to hear the recent news of the death of Steve Jobs. Since then, the Internet has been buzzing with stories, anecdotes and speculation about him. As a result, the news of the death of another key figure in the computing world barely got a mention: Dennis Ritchie died on 12 October 2011. Although not so much of a household name as Jobs, there are many [including myself] who … Read More
Tags: Dennis Ritchie, C, Steve Jobs, Linux, Programming Languages
Two weeks ago, I set a quiz. I listed four ways to write some code, which was supposed to divide an unsigned integer by 8. I commented that the priority was for the code to be as fast as possible and asked which of my lines of C was most efficient.
I was pleased with the response and acknowledge contributions from Peter Bushell, Dan S, Ken Simone, Krzysztof Wesołowski, Lee Riemenschneider, and Shaun … Read More
Tags: Development Tools, C, Optimization, Programming Languages
It is October, which is always the start of a busy time of year for me. Most people I know are preoccupied with returning to school or the change in weather heralding the approach of Winter, but I am contemplating all the conferences that I need to attend. It is the same every year. The world of embedded software goes quiet during the Summer, then everyone realizes that they have sales targets to make … Read More
Tags: Programming Languages, Development Tools, RTOS, USB
I was recently reading a set of “golden rules” for embedded programming. I am very skeptical about such proscriptive instructions as, for them to be valid, a great many assumptions must be made and clearly stated. These rules were supposed to promote the production of safe, efficient code. I am OK with “safe” – that simply means that the code does what it is supposed to … Read More
Tags: Development Tools, C, Optimization, Programming Languages
For a software developer, the idea of a library is quite simple: It is a file containing a [typically large] number of functions/procedures/subroutines in a special format. At link time, the linker looks in the library [or there may well be more than one, in which case it checks each in turn] to resolve any references to functions not satisfied by the supplied object modules. This means that the programmer … Read More
Tags: Development Tools, C, Programming Languages, libraries, Linux
I have frequently made the observation that a key difference between embedded and desktop system programming is variability: every Windows PC is essentially the same, whereas every embedded system is different. There are a number of implications of this variability tools need to be more sophisticated and flexible; programmers need to be ready to accommodate the specific requirements of their system; … Read More
Tags: Optimization, Development Tools, Programming Languages
I recently wrote about programming languages and discussed which ones are common for embedded applications. Among the responses to that posting was a message from Robert Dewar from AdaCore. He makes the following points:
“It’s interesting to note that you omitted one language mentioned in the VDC report, namely Ada. Ada is interesting because, as you noted, all the other languages do not … Read More
Tags: Programming Languages, Ada