Embedded Systems Design, May 2011

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Features:
Cover Story
“Seventeen steps to safer C code”
By Thomas Honold
The author gives 17 tips for writing safety-critical C code using methods adapted from C++ and Ada.

“Why your embedded controller may not need a CPU”
By Mark Ainsworth
Do you really need that CPU in your microcontroller? Here’s a way to free up your CPU using a combination of programmable logic devices and datapaths. Mark Ainsworth of Cypress Semiconductor explains how.

ESC Silicon Valley 2011 paper
“Adopting C programming conventions”
By Jean J. Labrosse
If you like being a rebel, going it alone, bucking convention, and a thousand other clichés, programming embedded systems might not be for you. Rarely is it a solo job anymore. Let’s face it—we’re production programmers and have to follow the same house style guide and rules to get the job done right.

Columns:
Programming Pointers
By Dan Saks
“Insights into member initialization”
Often when it seems that C++ is generating bigger and slower code than C, it may be that C++ is actually just distributing generated code differently.

Break Points:
By Jack G. Ganssle
“A rumble, a wave, and iPads dry up”
The disaster in Japan makes you think about the fundamental chemistry that makes all our modern smart devices possible.

Departments:
#include
By Ron Wilson
“Languages and custom”
The multilingual culture of embedded programming has been replaced by a stultifying sameness. But from the ruins a retrograde movement has begun to stir.

Download a PDF of digital edition: http://i.techweb.com/embedded/pdfs/UBME_esd0511.pdf