We work within an entire ecosystem of tools that synergistically work together. My lathe is tremendous fun, but is worthless without an extensive complement of jaws, polishers, and turning tools. I have two sets of the latter: cheap ones made of poor steel, and top-of-the-line gouges and chisels. The good ones cost a bundle, but they stay sharp longer, chatter less, and are more fun to use.

Good tools lead to increased productivity. In this flat world, to compete we need everything that helps us do more with less. No matter what a tool costs, that price pales compared with our salaries.

Jack Ganssle (jack@ganssle.com) is a lecturer and consultant specializing in embedded systems' development issues. For more information about Jack click here .

Endnotes:
1. TechInsights (Embedded.com, Embedded Systems Design, Embedded Systems Conferences). "2009 Embedded Market Study." For webinar with commentary from Michael Barr, click here. For more information, contact David Blaza, vice president of events and embedded systems at dblaza@techinsights.com.

2. Electronics.ca Research Network. "Global Oscilloscopes Market Projected to Inch up to $1.25 Billion by 2010; Oscilloscopes--A Global Strategic Business Report," published May 1, 2008. Available at www.electronics.ca/presscenter/articles/802/1/
Global-Oscilloscopes-Market-Projected-to-Inch-up-to-125-Billion-by-2010/Page1.html.

3. Verne, Jules. From the Earth to the Moon. First published in 1865. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon.

4. Jones, Capers. Assessment and Control of Software Risks. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Yourdon Press, 1994.

5. Praxis High Integrity Systems. The SPARK approach, also called "Correctness by Construction." See http://praxis-his.com/.

6. Wikipedia. "Eclipse (software)" available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(software)#History.

7. Wilson, Gregory. "Where's the Real Bottleneck in Scientific Computing?"American Scientist, January/February 2006.