C and Embedded C Programming

A warm welcome to the C and Embedded C Programming course by Uplatz.

The C Standards Committee created the Embedded C as a collection of language extensions for the C programming language to address commonality concerns that emerge with C extensions for various embedded systems. It's used to create microcontroller programming software Fixed-point arithmetic, named address spaces, and essential I/O hardware addressing are all characteristics not accessible in normal C. In simple words, Embedded C is a set of language extensions for the C programming language by the C Standards Committee to address commonality issues that exist between C extensions for different embedded systems.

C is a general-purpose programming language that is frequently used to create desktop programs of all types. Dennis Ritchie created it to design the operating system as a system programming language. Low-level memory access, a basic set of keywords, and a clean style are all properties of the C programming language that make it suited for system programming such as OS or compiler development. In its natural state, it employs a native platform development strategy, meaning that the application's development is platform-dependent and limited to a single platform. Embedded C is a microcontroller-based programming language that is an extension of the C language. I/O Hardware Addressing, fixed-point arithmetic operations, accessing address spaces, and other features distinguish the Embedded C language from traditional C programming. The Basic Structures of an Embedded C Program are organized in five tiers.

Embedded C is unarguably the most popular languages among Embedded Programmers for programming Embedded Systems. There are many popular programming languages like Assembly, BASIC, C++, Python etc. that are often used for developing Embedded Systems but Embedded C remains popular due to its efficiency, less development time and portability.

An Embedded System can be best described as a system which has both the hardware and software and is designed to do a specific task. Some examples of the embedded systems in a modern-age car are Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Temperature Monitoring System, Automatic Climate Control, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, Engine Oil Level Monitor, etc.

Embedded Systems consists of both hardware and software. If we consider a simple Embedded System, the primary hardware module is the Processor. The Processor is the heart of the Embedded System and it can be anything like a Microprocessor, Microcontroller, DSP, CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gated Array). All these devices have one thing in common: they are programmable i.e., we can write a program (which is the software part of the Embedded System) to define how the device actually works.

Embedded software/program allows hardware to monitor external events (Inputs / Sensors) and control external devices (outputs) accordingly. During this process, the program for an embedded system may have to directly manipulate the internal architecture of the embedded hardware (usually the processor) such as Timers, Serial Communications Interface, Interrupt Handling, and I/O Ports etc.

It is obvious that the software component of an embedded system is more or at least equally important as the hardware part. There is no point in having advanced hardware components with poorly written programs (software) since otherwise you won't be able to optimize your hardware to the effect you want.

There are many programming languages that are used for Embedded Systems like Assembly (low-level Programming Language), C, C++, JAVA (high-level programming languages), Visual Basic, JavaScript (Application level Programming Languages), etc. In the process of making a better embedded system, the programming of the system plays a vital role and hence, the selection of the programming language is very important.

Key advantages of choosing C as the preferred language of programming for embedded systems:

• It is significantly easy to write code in C

• Fast execution

• High performance

• Maintenance of code is very simple

• Make use of rich library functions to reduce the complexity of the main code

• Versatility - can easily port the code to other architecture with very little modifications

• Robustness and scalability

  
  

Difference between C and Embedded C

There is actually not much difference between C and Embedded C apart from few extensions and the operating environment. Both C and Embedded C are ISO Standards that have almost same syntax, datatypes, functions, etc. Embedded C is basically an extension to the Standard C Programming Language with additional features like Addressing I/O, multiple memory addressing and fixed-point arithmetic, etc. C Programming Language is generally used for developing desktop applications, while Embedded C is used in the development of Microcontroller based applications.

This course on C and Embedded C Programming explains how to use C in embedded systems. This course teaches delegates how to program a contemporary embedded microcontroller utilizing real-time development tools, in addition to providing them a thorough understanding of the C programming language. The C Programming for Embedded Systems course is designed to provide you with real-world coding experience as well as hands-on project work using ARM-based microcontrollers. You'll learn how to create embedded software applications and handle software configuration management. This C and Embedded C programming course is for everyone, whether you're a student or a working professional wishing to change careers.

The Embedded C course gives a step-by-step approach to mastering the C programming language for novices. By studying c in a methodical manner, you may fine-tune your coding abilities and turn your ideas into applications, laying a solid basis for embedded systems and more sophisticated electronics systems.

Course Objectives

• Develop C/Embedded C programs in a systematic manner

• Create applications based on the fundamental notions

• Develop your coding abilities. in an expert manner

• Get a thorough understanding of C/Embedded C by starting with the basics

• Develop your debugging abilities and find solutions to your code's problems

• Construct a foundation for future programming languages and embedded programming

C and Embedded C Programming - Course Syllabus

1. Introduction to Embedded C

2. Deep-dive into C Programming

3. Embedded C - Practice

4. Embedded C - Preprocessing

5. C Traps and Pitfalls

6. Secrets of printf in C

7. Standard C Library