Hardware Interfacing with C Course

The development of device drivers and embedded software is full of challenges. But it is possible to write easy-to-read portable C code to control peripherals ranging from simple timers and UARTs to complex custom FPGAs. This important course covers a large number of subjects ranging from C startup code and the “world before main()” to the development of interrupt-based device drivers that interact with peripheral control and status registers through memory-mapped I/O, overlayed structs, and bitfields.

Length/Options

• 2 days (hands-on)
• 1 day (lecture only)

Audience

• Programmers with no prior embedded software experience
• Embedded software developers seeking to enhance their C skills
• Embedded software developers moving from assembly to C

Prerequisites

• Working familiarity with the C programming language

Related Courses

• Embedded Software Boot Camp
• Hardware-Firmware Interface Design
• Embedded Programming with the GNU Development Tools
• Embedded Programming with C++
• Multithreaded RTOS Programming
• Alternatives to Real-Time Operating Systems

Outline

• Introduction
• The C Standard(s)
• Embedded C Fundamentals
• Fixed-Width Integers
• Binary Data Manipulation
• Fixed and Floating Point Math
• Performance Improvement
• Data Storage and Lifetimes
• The World Before main()
• Peripheral Control
• Peripheral Registers
• Memory-Mapped I/O
• Struct Overlays
• Volatile Keyword
• Bitmasks vs. Bitfields
• Device Drivers
• Interrupt Handling
• Interrupt Service Routines
• Vector Tables
• Hardware Hurdles
• Disabling Interrupts
• Interrupt Latency
• Language Choice
• C vs. Assembly
• C vs. C++

Hands-On Tools/Platform

• IAR C Compiler
• STR912F (ARM9) Development Kit

Learn More

To request pricing or dates, or for more information about this course, contact us.