Embedded vs.
PC Application
Programming
Overview
 The



software design cycle
Designing differences
Code differences
Test differences
In general...
 They
are the same
 All programs have:



Inputs
Processing/Decisions
Outputs
 Always
use the Software Design Cycle
Software Design Cycle
 Specification
 Design
 Code
 Test
http://rabatech.com
Specification
 Understand


The same words mean different things to
different people
As a group, what does the following mean:
The program must respond quickly to input.
 Write

the Requirements
down the Requirements
Once you know what you plan to do (with
numbers) write it down!
Design
 Decide
the ‘best approach’ to meet your
requirements



Hardware
Programming Language
Customer Education(Change the
Requirements)
Coding
Embedded

Closer to the Hardware




Use native data types
Fewer System
Resources
No Operating System
More efficient
algorithms

Higher frequency =
higher power
PC Application
 Abstracted
Hardware
 Plenty
of Resources
 Has an Operating
System
Testing
Embedded
 Testing must be
planned in
 Usually
a simple
interface
 Often involves
extra hardware
PC Application
 Usually
simple to
get a basic debug
output
 Can be very
sophisticated
testing
Other big differences
 Take
a few minutes and talk in small
groups. I’ll be asking one group to give
some of the ideas they came up with.
Code Size Example
 Using
the example code on the web
explore the Wunderboard lights and code
size based on variable types.
Things to Remember
 There
are parallels between embedded
and PC programming
 When coding embedded, it is better to
use native data types