Posted Dec 19, 2011, by Colin Walls
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
Tags:
Debugging,
Embedded Software,
API,
RTOS,
test harness,
Nucleus,
Nucleus OS
Posted Dec 12, 2011, by Colin Walls
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
Tags:
Nucleus,
test harness,
Nucleus OS,
Embedded Software,
Debugging,
RTOS,
API
Posted Nov 21, 2011, by Colin Walls
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
Tags:
Linux,
Nucleus,
Embedded Software,
RTOS,
Nucleus OS,
Open Source
Posted Oct 3, 2011, by Colin Walls
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:
Embedded Software,
Programming Languages,
Development Tools,
RTOS,
USB
Posted Sep 12, 2011, by Colin Walls
As I have mentioned before, I am always interested in user surveys, as they do offer some kind of glimpse into what is going on the world of embedded software development. The recently published VDC Embedded Engineering Survey [summary available here] shows up some interesting results and trends.
However, it does, like with many surveys, raise nearly as many questions as it provides answers …
One … Read More
Tags:
RTOS,
VDC,
USB,
Embedded Software,
Development Tools,
Nucleus OS
Posted Aug 23, 2011, by Colin Walls
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
Tags:
Linux,
multi-core,
Embedded Software,
Nucleus OS,
RTOS,
Multi-OS,
Nucleus
Posted Aug 22, 2011, by Colin Walls
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
Tags:
RTOS,
Development Tools,
Embedded Software,
Debugging,
Optimization,
profiling,
Nucleus,
Nucleus OS
Posted Aug 15, 2011, by Colin Walls
All my working life, I have had a challenge with explaining to people what I actually do. It all starts with defining what is an embedded system. As I have discussed before, this is by no means easy. I thought that this might become simpler over time, as embedded systems become even more ubiquitous, but the reverse is true. The definition is getting even fuzzier.
It has reached a point where software … Read More
Tags:
Embedded Software,
Nucleus OS,
RTOS,
Linux
Posted Jun 20, 2011, by Colin Walls
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
Tags:
Embedded Software,
Linux,
API,
RTOS,
Nucleus,
Nucleus OS
Posted Apr 18, 2011, by Colin Walls
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
Tags:
Windows CE,
Source Code,
Linux,
Low Power,
Embedded Software,
Nucleus OS,
RTOS,
Networking,
Nucleus