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Firmware Update
- June 6, 2012
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in this issue
-- On the Limitations of the C Language
-- Security Has Never Been More Important in Embedded
-- Turning Automatic Code Generation Upside Down
-- Industry News You Can Use
Firmware Update is a free newsletter by embedded guru Michael Barr. This issue is Copyright 2012 by Barr Group, but may be reprinted for non-commercial purposes. Please forward it to colleagues who may benefit from the information. |
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On the Limitations of the C Language ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is well known that standard C language features map horribly on to the architecture of many processors. While the mapping is obvious and appalling for older processors (low end PICs and the 8051 spring to mind), C is also not necessarily great at the 32-bit end of the spectrum. For example, processors lacking floating point hardware can be hit hard with C's floating point promotion rules.
While this is all obvious stuff, it's essentially about what those CPUs are lacking. Where it gets really interesting in the embedded space is when you have a processor that has specialized instructions that are great for embedded systems, such as logical bit shifting and saturated addition, that simply do not map on to the C language's view of the world. |
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Security Has Never Been More Important in Embedded ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Theft of your intellectual property and product liability exposure due to malware and intentional attacks are significant issues that embedded engineers must now confront in a world of connected devices. As cyber-security becomes a major issue in all types of computing, embedded devices need to incorporate designs that limit rogue intrusion and reverse engineering. Yet, the limited computing/memory resources inherent in embedded devices present large challenges to designers looking to protect their devices from bad actors.
Barr Group's world-class computer security experts are experienced in cryptography and all aspects of computer security. Our experts can assist you in designing necessary protections in the first place or provide a comprehensive analysis of your existing device design - including its mechanical, electronic, and software aspects - and provide a detailed report that identifies security vulnerabilities and recommends solutions. |
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Turning Automatic Code Generation Upside Down ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Much ink has been spilled on the Next Big Thing in software development. One of these things has always been "automatic code generation" from high-level models (e.g., from state machines). But even though many tools on the market today support code generation, their widespread acceptance has grown rather slowly. One of the main reasons for this is that today's tools too often require manual "massaging" of the generated code, which breaks the connection with the original model.
But, how about a tool that actually allows you to do your own physical design? How about turning the whole code generation process upside down? This "inversion" of code generation responsibilities solves most of the problems with the integration between the generated code and other code. You can simply "ask" the tool to generate as much or as little code as you see fit. The tool helps, where it can add value, but otherwise you can keep it out of your way. |
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Industry News You Can Use ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will it Optimize? How well do you know the GNU C compiler (gcc)? Test your knowledge. http://ridiculousfish.com/blog/posts/will-it-optimize.html
Shodan: A search engine to find embedded systems reachable via Internet. http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/cyber-search-engine-exposes-vulnerabilities/2012/06/03/gJQAIK9KCV_story.html Why Three Prongs? A history of "natural selection" in technology. http://amasci.com/amateur/whygnd.html What's next in computer storage? Storing your data in the DNA of living creatures. http://m.spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/bioengineers-make-dna-into-a-living-flash-drive/ Struggle Continues to Close Embedded Software Education Gap. http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4372250/Struggle-continues-to-plug-embedded-programming-gap Apollo mission source code: http://www.ibiblio.org/apollo/links.html |
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Quick Links ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
mbarr@barrgroup.com
phone:
866.65.EMBED
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