Top Embedded articles of 2015

Embedded's readers found a truly eclectic reading list among Embedded's pages in 2015. Here are the dev articles and blog posts that gained the most attention. Does this list miss an article you found particularly compelling in 2015? Tell us in the comments below! 

Dev articles

1. Modern C++ in embedded systems – Part 1: Myth and Reality
   By Dominic Herity
   In this first of a two-part article, Dominic Herity reviews the many changes to the C++ language in the past 15 years and the many improvements that make it more appropriate in embedded systems software development.
2. Securing the IoT: Part 1 – Public key cryptography
   By Yann Loisel and Stephane di Vito
   The authors detail security risks facing the developer of an Internet of Things device and recommend the best public key-based algorithms to use.
3. Basics of the Cortex MCU Software Interface Standard: Part 1 – CMSIS Specification
   By Trevor Martin
   In Part 1 of a two-part tutorial, Trevor Martin discusses how to use the ARM Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard to import and integrated source code from multiple sources.
4. Programming languages for multicore systems
   By Gitu Jain
   Comparing and contrasting the use of the C, C++, assembly, Java, Python, and Ada programming languages for application software development on embedded multicore systems.
5. Who needs a debugger?
   By Colin Walls
   Most embedded software developers spend the bulk of their time debugging. This does beg the question: What does debugging actually mean? The answer is less simple than you might expect.
6. IPv6 – a beginner's guide
   By Colin Walls
   One of the myths associated with IPv6 is that the only reason to adopt IPv6 is the impending depletion of the IPv4 address space.
7. Modern C++ embedded systems – Part 2: Evaluating C++
   By Dominic Herity
   In Part 2 of his article on new enhancements to the C++ language, Dominic Herity evaluates the features that make the language more appropriate for use in embedded software development.
8. Floating-point data in embedded software
   By Colin Walls
   Colin Walls discusses the details of floating point operations, when floating point should and should not be used, some of the pitfalls of its use, and how its use may sometimes be avoided.
9. Making sense out of 8-bit and 32-bit MCU options for your next IoT application
   By Josh Norem
   8- and 32-bit MCUs are complementary technologies, excelling at some tasks. The trick is figuring out when a particular application lends itself to a particular MCU architecture.
10. Securing the IoT: Part 2 – Secure boot as root of trust
    By Yann Loisel and Stephane di Vito
    The importance of implementing connected devices with a secure boot mechanism and its role as the “root of trust” and cornerstone of an electronic device’s trustworthiness.

Blog posts

1. 10 skills embedded engineers need now
   By Karen Field
   EE Times turned to nine embedded professionals and a recruiter and asked them to tell us what they think are the most important things engineers should learn now.
2. The MCU guy's introduction to FPGAs: The Hardware
   By Max Maxfield
   Embedded design engineers often come from a MCU background and have only a vague idea as to what an FPGA is and what it does. This column explains all.
3. Your fart is my problem
   By Jack Ganssle
   Open offices are the future. What a shame.
4. Down with productivity
   By Jack Ganssle
   How to kill a software team's productivity, in one easy lesson.
5. Saleae’s Logic Pro USB logic analyzer/scope
   By Jack Ganssle
   Saleae’s Logic Pro 8 USB logic analyzer/scope packs a lot of functionality into a very small package.
6. Dev board aims at Raspberry Pi, Arduino with hybrid ARM/FPGA SoC
   By Stephen Evanczuk
   A Bay-area startup looks to shake up the dev board world with a (really) low-cost, crowdfunded kit designed to outperform competitive boards while undercutting their pricing.
7. Rethinking C++ for embedded systems design
   By Bernard Cole
   Developers of C language-based embedded designs need to rethink their bias against the use of C++. It has gone through revisions and updates to make it more useful in the 32-bit microcontrollers that are replacing 8- and 16-bit MCUs in many designs.
8. Getting Started with Embedded Linux: Part Ten — Building a Raspberry Pi kernel
   By Michael Eager
   Explore self-hosted development using the Raspberry Pi as a target.
9. Xilinx Targets Embedded Software Developers with SDSoC
   By Max Maxfield
   Embedded software developers outnumber their hardware counterparts by a factor of 10:1, so a tool that lets them take full advantage of programmable SoCs is extremely significant.
10. The MCU guy's introduction to FPGAs: The Software
    By Max Maxfield
    Embedded design engineers often come from a MCU background and have only a vague idea as to what Verilog and VHDL are and what they do. This column explains all.