Choosing a microcontroller or designing an algorithm for an application is an intensive, tim-critical task frequently involving a 'gut feeling.' This book takes the decision from your gut to your brain! Lewin Edwards, author of three other blockbuster embedded titles, including So You Want to Be an Embedded Engineer, guides the reader through the decision-making process using two widely accessable microcontrollers. He has chosen Texas Instruments' MSP430 for the 8-bit microcontroller and for the higher-end controller the ever-present ARM9.
When finished reading this book, the engineer will be able to make more accurate estimates of what hardware will work for each application. Better than that he/she will be able to generate written analyses of CPU loading in various real-time embedded systems WITHOUT actually having to build the system. This book is a must-own for any embedded software engineer or designer developing code for real-time applications.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction2. Why and How We Characterize Processor Loading
3. The Simplest Case 8 Bits and Deterministic
4. A More General Real-World Case
5. Things Get "Interesting": Factors Affecting Determinism in High-End Systems
6. Techniques for Measuring Execution Time of Code Fragments
7. Making Sense of Operating Systems (RTOS or not RTOS)
8. Tying It Together Three High-End Examples
9. Factoring an FPGA-Based Appication
