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Firmware Update - August 13, 2010
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In this issue:
-- 3 Things Every Programmer Should Know About RMA
-- How Not to Set a Bad Example
-- Master Firmware at Embedded Software Boot Camp
-- The Top 10 Firmware Flaws Course is Coming to Boston
-- Industry News You Can Use

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.


3 Things Every Programmer Should Know About RMA
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Real-time systems design and RMA go together like peanut butter and jelly. So why is it that wherever I go in the embedded community, engineers are developing real-time systems without applying RMA? This is a dangerous situation, but one that is easily remedied by ensuring every programmer knows three things about Rate Monotonic Analysis.

Perhaps you think RMA is just for academics. I also thought that way years ago-but here's the straight dope.

Learn 3 important things...


How Not to Set a Bad Example
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About a month ago, fellow embedded guru Nigel Jones bought an ARM evaluation board from his favorite compiler vendor. He bought this particular board in part because it came with a lot of example code showing how to configure the peripherals in the ARM processor. To his dismay, the example code contained a plethora of shoddy coding practices. In a series of five blog posts, he has described some of the most egregious things in the code - as well as how the code should have been written to set a better example.

Find out who's setting a bad example...


Master Firmware at Embedded Software Boot Camp
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Embedded Software Boot Camp There is just one public session of the Embedded Software Boot Camp remaining this year. It will be held the week of October 18-22 in Columbia, Maryland.

This hands-on workshop is a one-week skills strengthening program for embedded software engineers. The intensely educational (but fun!) program will be taught by me personally. And I guarantee that you will be a better firmware engineer by the end of the week if you join me.

Register this month and save $1,000...


The Top 10 Firmware Flaws Course is Coming to Boston
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On Monday, September 20th, I'll be in Boston just as the Embedded Systems Conference is kicking off. Come meet me and hear what I have to say about the The Top 10 Firmware Flaws. The subtitle of this informative half-day session is "How to Find, Fix, and Prevent the Nastiest Bugs". Don't miss it.

Put ESC Boston on your calendar...


Industry News You Can Use
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LDRA's static analysis tool now enforces Netrino's Embedded C Coding Standard. Details: http://bit.ly/cXGf9x

India's electronic voting machines are vulnerable to fraud. Video and technical paper: http://bit.ly/bAffvp

Another firmware bug in the news: $42.9 million slot machine win should have paid $20.18. Denver Post story: http://bit.ly/b7CWny

The truth about Light Saber technology: http://bit.ly/aBPS8E

Students, meet your new teacher, Mr. Robot: http://nyti.ms/aw8sg6 The brave new world of robotic teachers.

Unpiloted, automated passenger aircraft: coming to an airport near you. http://bit.ly/b6pFku

Excellent ref on bit twiddling at http://bit.ly/DiYX. My favorite - find the least significant bit: ((v & -v) * 0x077CB531UL) >> 27

Some thoughts on a portable device driver framework for embedded systems: http://bit.ly/d2g0Pb

The Trouble With Multicore! Chipmakers are designing processors that most programmers can't handle. http://bit.ly/dyD7vU

According to the India Semiconductor Association, there are over 100,000 embedded software developers in India. #embedsys #escindia #wow

You don't need a fab to build your own CPU! Do try this at home: http://bit.ly/9Ulgh3

Adapted from my twitter feed...


Quick Links
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  • Articles about Embedded Software
  • Books about Embedded Design
  • Blogs by Embedded Gurus
  • Glossary of Embedded Terminology


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