Embedded Systems Building Blocks: Complete and Ready-To-Use Modules in C/Book and Disk

This book provides basic, reusable real-time system modules and explains how to use and modify them. Portable, ready to use code will save time and costs in system development and shorten time to market. Time to market is becoming as important as cost control in gaining competitive advantage. Jean J. Labrosse has been designing embedded systems for over 12 years. Thousands of people are using his first book, C/OS: The Real-Time Kernel. His experience has taught him that certain pieces are common to most systems: a display, a keypad for interacting with the system, various analog and discrete inputs, various types of outputs, communications with host computers, event timing, and keeping track of date and time. Labrosse provides basic building blocks for all these processes, freeing other developers to work on the fun and unique parts of their designs. By providing some of the peripheral functions, Labrosse enables designers to put their energy into the hard specifics of each unique system. Designers can use Labrosse's code for rapid prototyping, or modify it as needed to include in their final product. For students, Labrosse takes the mystery out of the unique requirements of embedded systems design with concrete programming examples. By providing the code in C, the book allows students to use a wide range of microprocessors. Each chapter describes one or more of the building blocks, and the user can jump to any chapter as needed, after seeing Labrosse's conventions in Chapter 1, where he explains how each chapter is organized and how to use the modules.

This book is for embedded system programmers, consultants, and students. It assumes the reader knows C programming language and at least a minimum of assembly language programming. Using the book also requires some knowledge of microprocessors and basic electronics, although the hardware explained is easy to understand.

Jean J. Labrosse has been developing real-time software for more than 10 years on a wide range of microprocessors. He works in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, designing control software for large industrial reciprocating engines.