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Firmware Update
- January 7, 2010
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In this issue:
-- Is Reliable Multithreaded Software Possible?
-- Mutexes vs. Semaphores: What's the Difference?
-- Become a Master Firmware Engineer in 2010
-- Industry News and Year End Wrapups -- Another Job Opening! -- Share This Newsletter with a Friend
Firmware Update is a free newsletter by embedded software expert Michael Barr. It is Copyright 2010 by Netrino, LLC, but may be reprinted for non-commercial purposes. Please forward it to colleagues who may benefit from the information. |
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Is Reliable Multithreaded Software Possible? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Imagine for a minute that I've invented the
Universal Bolt. This is a metal object for joining
threaded holes that can extend or collapse to
fit a variety of lengths. It can expand or
contract to fit holes of different diameters. You
no longer need to stock a variety
of bolts of different sizes and lengths and
thread spacings because my Universal Bolt
can be used in place of any of them.
Because it's able to change configurations extremely quickly, a single Universal Bolt can take the place of many conventional bolts simultaneously. What we do is rig up a clever and very fast dispatcher device that quickly moves the Universal Bolt from hole to hole. If the dispatcher is fast enough, my Universal Bolt can spend a moment in each hole in turn and get the whole way through your mechanical product so fast that it returns to each hole before the joint has had a chance to separate. Sounds like cool technology, right? But YOU'D HAVE TO BE CRAZY to travel in an airplane or a car designed this way! If any minor disturbance caused the dispatcher to derail, the entire product would collapse in a second. Yet this analogy perfectly describes the design of most products powered by embedded computers: A fast and complex thread dispatcher keeps moving one processor all over a big system tending to the various ISRs and RTOS tasks rapidly enough that they all get done. And if the CPU ever once goes astray the whole system crashes--or worse! Do we need a new paradigm for reliable embedded software architecture? What are the alternatives? |
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Mutexes vs. Semaphores: What's the Difference? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What's the difference between a mutex, a
binary semaphore, and a counting
semaphore? Even very experienced
embedded programmers fail to fully
appreciate the importance of using the correct
semaphore for the job. And,
unfortunately, most of the information I've
seen about this topic online and in books and
even in user's manuals is WRONG!
If you want your real-time system to function reliably, each type of semaphore should be used in a specific way. Register today for next week's 1-hour TechOnline webinar so I can show you how to use mutexes and semaphores properly. (Warning: It's not free.) |
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Become a Master Firmware Engineer in 2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is possible to dramatically improve the skills
of a firmware engineer in just one hands-on
week. Everyone who attends Netrino's
Embedded Software Boot Camp learns
important stuff, especially:
Sign up now to attend one of 4 upcoming sessions in Orlando, Florida (February 22-26); San Jose, California (March 15-19); Columbia, Maryland (April 12-16); or Chicago, Illinois (May 3-7). In addition to better skills, attendees receive:
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Industry News and Year End Wrapups ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Numerous embedded chip and tool vendors
are using Twitter to keep in touch with their
customers. A Handy List: http://bit.ly/8HN1ly
Wearable computing is making big strides in personal fitness and healthcare. Hot Products: http://bit.ly/8OPOjj Mocana is offering a free trial of their NanoCrypto cryptographic engine for embedded systems. Download: http://bit.ly/6NIIFH In 2009, unmanned systems made 1.4% of the world's mobile calls; 4.2% in the U.S.! http://bit.ly/6T5wuV IAR Systems just announced the world's first starter kit for the ARM Cortex-M0 ultra low power MCU. http://bit.ly/5QeCkf Solar airplane completes first test flight (powered by an RTOS). Video: http://tinyurl.com/ylmlrf7 The Voyager space probes are still teaching. Our solar system is passing through an interstellar cloud! http://bit.ly/6aQs5y Computer Science isn't just for nerds--new programs aim to lure youngsters to tomorrow's digital jobs. http://bit.ly/4ssUl8 BestBuy, Samsung, Westinghouse, and JVC among big brands alleged to be violating open source GPL license terms. http://bit.ly/5JJJan The call for abstracts for ESC India 2010 is now open. Submit your technical paper at this URL: http://forms.crn.in/esc/default.aspx More Indian speakers needed! Bill Gatliff will be teaching a hands-on 4-day Embedded Linux Jumpstart course Jan 25-28 in Illinois. http://bit.ly/8EkDfV Details of the speakers and courses at ESC Silicon Valley 2010 are now online. http://budurl.com/ra93 Use promo code "H100" to save $100 when registering at http://budurl.com/h6uq Semiconductor demand and stocks are primed to surge in 2010. Stock Tips: http://bit.ly/5fLtIE Top 100 Science Stories of 2009: http://bit.ly/71kFSx Top 10 EETimes' Group Design Articles of 2009: http://bit.ly/6Ikklm Seven Things Engineers Could Fix in 2010: http://bit.ly/5V3C4e Seven Computer Science Game-Changers from the 2000's plus Seven More to Come: http://bit.ly/7C61dK Top 10 Gadgets of the Aughts: http://bit.ly/7h1xzK Top 10 Robots of the Past 10 Years: http://bit.ly/59tCX2 |
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Another Job Opening! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Insight Technology, headquartered in
Londonderry, New Hampshire, is actively
searching for embedded software engineers
to program ARM, PIC, and MSP430
processors. You will be part of a small
engineering team in a challenging, fast-paced
company where designs become production
reality.
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Share This Newsletter with a Friend ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I started writing the monthly Firmware Update
newsletter in 2009. My mission is to
spread the word about best practices for
embedded software architecture and process far
and wide. I hope you find this newsletter as
informative as it is quick to read.
Please share this issue with your friends and colleagues? You may use the "Forward e- mail" link below or hit forward in your mail reader. Either way, I am grateful to you for reading and for your help in spreading the word. In addition, I'd love to hear what you think about the format and content so far. What do you like or dislike most? |
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Quick Links ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Contact Us... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
mbarr@netrino.com
phone:
866.78.EMBED
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