1. Microcontrollers, Basics Successful Software Development for MCUs
18 January 2012
Jonathan A. Titus

2. Anyone Can Program in C! Sidney Harris
...but that doesn’t mean they write GOOD code.

3. How Do You Start a Software Project?
You must have a clear objective!
Describe system architecture and behavior
Simple projects: 1- to 5-person team
Complex project: several teams
Hardware engineers
Software engineers
Mechatronics engineers
Sensor experts
Graphical-user-interface designers

4. Investigate Model-Based Design
In the “not-so-good” old days...
Courtesy of The MathWorks

5. Model-Based Design I
Courtesy of The MathWorks

6. Model-Based Design II
Courtesy of Texas Instruments

7. Create an Executable Model
Use modeling and simulation tools:
MATLAB and Simulink: MathWorks
LabVIEW and MatrixX: National Instruments
Maple and MapleSim: Maplesoft

8. Clutch-Control Model
Courtesy of The MathWorks

9. Vehicle-Control Model
Courtesy of Maplesoft

10. Model-Based Design Benefits Everything traces back to requirements
Teams work with the same information
Data flows up and down
No prototypes needed to begin
Tools can produce known-good code
VHDL, Verilog, C, C++
Program MCUs and FPGAs

11. Model-Based Design Problems Large commitment of time and money
Requires commitment to a new design discipline
Needs a team “evangelist”
Difficult to convince teams to use new tools

12. Model-Based Design
"Driving Technical Change: Why People on Your Team Don't Act on Good Ideas and How to Convince Them They Should," by Terrence Ryan, The Pragmatic Programmers, ISBN:

13. Model-Based Design Helpful white papers:
"Adopting Model-Based Design Interactive Kit," The MathWorks
"Shortening the Embedded Design Cycle with Model-Based Design," National Instruments
"High-Performance Physical Modeling and Simulation," MapleSoft
"Developing Quality Embedded Systems Using Model-Based Design," The MathWorks

14. Software Development
If model-based design isn’t right for you, what other approaches can you take?
IAR VisualSTATE software
Statecharts: State-machine designs
Flow-chart models
DIY techniques?

15. IAR VisualSTATE
"Designing a state machine to solve a problem," IAR Systems.

17. Statechart Design
"Practical UML Statecharts in C/C++," 2nd ed., Miro Samek, Newnes-Elsevier, ISBN:

18. Coding Tools I MCUs have an associated C/C++ compiler
MCU vendors supply software tools:
Microchip -- MPLAB X
Texas Instruments -- Code Composer Studio
Freescale -- CodeWarrior
Renesas -- High-Performance Embedded Workbench
Rabbit Semiconductor -- Dynamic C
Vendor tools “close to the chips”
Try free or limited versions before you buy

19. Coding Tools II Third-Party Tools Atollic Custom Computer Services
GreenHills Software
Hitex
IAR
Code-Red Technology
Keil (ARM)
HiTech (Microchip)
Raisonance
Rowley
Custom Computer Services
CodeSourcery (Mentor)
MikroElektronika

20. What Should Software Tools Do?
Compile C, C++, and assembly-language
Easily mix C/C++ and in-line assembly code
Simplify tracking projects, files, and revisions
Provide a “smart” color-coding editor
Simplify I/O and peripheral setup
Provide debug and test capabilities
Quickly connect with program/debug pods
Link to latest documents and manuals

21. What Should Software Tools Do?
Simplify tracking projects, files, and revisions
Courtesy of Keil Software

22. What Should Software Tools Do?
Provide a “smart” color-coding editor

23. What Should Software Tools Do?
Simplify I/O and peripheral setup
Courtesy of Texas Instruments

24. What Should Software Tools Do?
Provide debug and test capabilities
Courtesy of Microchip

25. What Should Software Tools Do?
Quickly connect with program/debug pods

26. Take Advantage of Other Resources
Use dev kits as “golden platforms” for code tests
Adopt a consistent coding style:
Google C++ Style Guide
If you are new to MCUs, start with a small board
Arduino Uno, Digilent Uno32, ARM mbed
Use vendor code libraries
Visit and join MCU-user and MCU-software forums
Embedded Systems Conference (ESC)
26 through 29 March 2012, San Jose, CA, USA

27. Good Embedded-System Books
"Test-Driven Development for Embedded C," James W. Grenning, The Pragmatic Programmers, ISBN:
"Automated Defect Prevention: Best Practices in Software Management," by Dorota Huizinga and Adam Kolawa, Wiley Interscience, ISBN:
"The Art of Designing Embedded Systems," 2nd ed., by Jack Ganssle, Newnes, ISBN:
"The Firmware Handbook," Jack Ganssle, ed., Newnes, ISBN:

28. Hed
Text
Bullets If
Needed

29. Hed
Text
Bullets If
Needed

30. Hed
Text
Bullets If
Needed

31. Hed
Text
Bullets If
Needed

32. Hed
Text
Bullets If
Needed

33. Hed
Text
Bullets If
Needed

34. Hed
Text
Bullets If
Needed

35. Hed
Text
Bullets If
Needed

36. Hed
Text
Bullets If
Needed