Embedded System Design on a Shoestring

by Edwards

• ISBN13: 9780750676090
• ISBN10: 0750676094
• Edition: CD
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-05-13
• Publisher: Elsevier Science

Summary

In this practical guide, experienced embedded engineer Lewin Edwards demonstrates faster, lower-cost methods for developing high-end embedded systems. With today's tight schedules and lower budgets, embedded designers are under greater pressure to deliver prototypes and system designs faster and cheaper. Edwards demonstrates how the use of the right tools and operating systems can make seemingly impossible deadlines possible. Designer's Guide to Embedded Systems Development shares many advanced, "in-the-trenches" design secrets to help engineers achieve better performance on the job. In particular, it covers many of the newer design tools supported by the GPL (GNU Public License) system. Code examples are given to provide concrete illustrations of tasks described in the text. The general procedures are applicable to many possible projects based on any 16/32-bit microcontroller. The book covers choosing the right architecture and development hardware to fit the project; choosing an operating system and developing a toolchain; evaluating software licenses and how they affect a project; step-by-step building instructions for gcc, binutils, gdb and newlib for the ARM7 core used in the case study project; prototyping techniques using a custom printed circuit board; debugging tips; and portability considerations. The accompanying CD-ROM contains all the code used in the design examples as well as useful open-source tools for embedded design. ·A wealth of practical tips, tricks and techniques ·Design better, faster and more cost-effectively ·Accompanying CD-ROM includes useful open-source tools for embedded design

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	iv
Introduction	1	(8)
Before You Start---Fundamental Decisions	9	(62)
General Microcontroller Selection Considerations	9	(4)
Choosing the Right Core	13	(6)
Building Custom Peripherals with FPGAs	19	(2)
Whose Development Hardware to Use---Chicken or Egg?	21	(8)
Our Hardware Choice---The Atmel EB40	29	(1)
Recommended Laboratory Equipment	30	(2)
Free Development Toolchains	32	(4)
Free Embedded Operating Systems	36	(8)
GNU and You---How Using ``Free'' Software Affects Your Product	44	(7)
Choices of Development Operating System	51	(2)
Special PCB Layout and Initial Bring-Up Rules for the Shoestring Prototype	53	(9)
Hints for Surface-Mounting by Hand	62	(3)
Choosing PCB Layout Software	65	(6)
The GNU Toolchain	71	(82)
Building the Toolchain	71	(5)
Overview of the GNU Build Environment	76	(4)
GNU Make and an Introduction to Makefiles	80	(7)
Gas---The GNU Assembler	87	(27)
Comments	88	(1)
Symbols and Labels	88	(2)
Code Sections and Section Directives	90	(6)
Pseudo-Operations	96	(12)
Conditional Assembly Directives	108	(3)
Macros, Assembler Loops and Synthetic Instructions	111	(3)
Ld---GNU Linker	114	(24)
Introduction	114	(4)
The Sections command	118	(1)
Symbol Assignments, Expressions and Functions	119	(5)
Output Section Descriptions	124	(3)
Overlay Section Descriptions	127	(4)
Emitting Data Directly into the Executable	131	(1)
Input Section Descriptions	132	(2)
Named Memory Regions	134	(2)
Special Considerations for C++	136	(1)
Further Id Information	137	(1)
Converting Files with Objcopy	138	(1)
Objdump---Check Your Executable's Layout	139	(4)
Size---Check the Load Size of Your Executable	143	(1)
Gdb---The GNU Debugger	143	(10)
Invoking and Quitting gdb and Loading Your Program	145	(3)
Examining Target Memory	148	(1)
Breakpoints and Other Conditional Breaks	149	(2)
Getting Further Help	151	(2)
Example Firmware Walkthroughs and Debugging Techniques	153	(50)
A Quick Introduction to ARM and the Atmel EB40	153	(5)
First Step---the LED Flasher (in Assembler)	158	(9)
Bringing Up a Simple C Program---The LED Flasher (in C)	167	(5)
Writing a Simple Flash-Loader (and Inspecting Memory with gdb)	172	(8)
A Simple ROM-Startup Program	180	(5)
A Complete ROM-Startup Application in C	185	(9)
Blind-Debugging Your Program	194	(5)
Miscellaneous Glue---Handling Hardware Exceptions in C with gcc	199	(4)
Portability and Reliability Considerations	203	(18)
Useful Vendors and Other Web Resources	221	(6)
Index of CD-ROM Contents	223	(4)
About the Author	227	(2)
Index	229