Book Image

Hands-On Embedded Programming with C++17

By : Maya Posch
5 (1)
Book Image

Hands-On Embedded Programming with C++17

5 (1)
By: Maya Posch

Overview of this book

C++ is a great choice for embedded development, most notably, because it does not add any bloat, extends maintainability, and offers many advantages over different programming languages. Hands-On Embedded Programming with C++17 will show you how C++ can be used to build robust and concurrent systems that leverage the available hardware resources. Starting with a primer on embedded programming and the latest features of C++17, the book takes you through various facets of good programming. You’ll learn how to use the concurrency, memory management, and functional programming features of C++ to build embedded systems. You will understand how to integrate your systems with external peripherals and efficient ways of working with drivers. This book will also guide you in testing and optimizing code for better performance and implementing useful design patterns. As an additional benefit, you will see how to work with Qt, the popular GUI library used for building embedded systems. By the end of the book, you will have gained the confidence to use C++ for embedded programming.

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Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Title Page
Title Page
Copyright and Credits
Copyright and Credits
About Packt
About Packt
Contributors
Contributors
Preface
Preface
Free Chapter
1
What Are Embedded Systems?
What Are Embedded Systems?
The many faces of embedded systems
Microcontrollers
System-on-Chip/Single Board Computer
Summary
2
C++ as an Embedded Language
C++ as an Embedded Language
C++ relative to C
C++ as an embedded language
C++ language features
The standard template library
Maintainability
Summary
3
Developing for Embedded Linux and Similar Systems
Developing for Embedded Linux and Similar Systems
Embedded operating systems
Real-time OSes
Custom peripherals and drivers
Resource limitations
Example – club room monitoring
Example – basic media player
Summary
4
Resource-Restricted Embedded Systems
Resource-Restricted Embedded Systems
The big picture for small systems
Embedded IDEs and frameworks
Programming MCUs
Memory management
Concurrency
AVR development with Nodate
ESP8266 development with Sming
ARM MCU development
RTOS usage
Summary
5
Example - Soil Humidity Monitor with Wi-Fi
Example - Soil Humidity Monitor with Wi-Fi
Keeping plants happy
Our solution
The hardware
The firmware
Taking it further
Complications
Summary
6
Testing OS-Based Applications
Testing OS-Based Applications
Avoiding real hardware
Cross-compiling for SBCs
Integration test for club status service
Testing with Valgrind
Multi-target build system
Remote testing on real hardware
Summary
7
Testing Resource-Restricted Platforms
Testing Resource-Restricted Platforms
Reducing wear
Planning out a design
Platform-independent build systems
Using cross-compilers
Local and on-chip debugging
Example – ESP8266 integration test
Summary
8
Example - Linux-Based Infotainment System
Example - Linux-Based Infotainment System
One box that does everything
Hardware needed
Software requirements
Bluetooth audio sources and sinks
Online streaming
Voice-driven user interface
Usage scenarios
Source code
Building the project
Extending the system
Summary
9
Example - Building Monitoring and Control
Example - Building Monitoring and Control
Plants, rooms, and beyond
Developmental history
Functional modules
Firmware source
Command and control server
Administration tool
Air-conditioning service
InfluxDB for recording sensor readings
Security aspects
Future developments
Summary
10
Developing Embedded Systems with Qt
Developing Embedded Systems with Qt
The power of the right framework
Qt for command-line use
GUI-based Qt applications
Embedded Qt
Custom GUIs with stylesheets
QML
3D designer
An example of adding a GUI to the infotainment system
Summary
11
Developing for Hybrid SoC/FPGA Systems
Developing for Hybrid SoC/FPGA Systems
Going extremely parallel
Hardware description languages
FPGA architecture
Hybrid FPGA/SoC chips
Example – basic oscilloscope
Building the project
Summary
Best Practices
Best Practices
All the best-laid plans
Working with the hardware
The confusing world of peripherals
Knowing your tools
Choosing asynchronous methods
Reading the datasheet
Keeping interrupt handlers short
8-bit means 8 bits
Don't reinvent the wheel
Think before you optimize
Requirements are not optional
Documentation saves lives
Testing code means trying to destroy it
Summary
Other Books You May Enjoy
Other Books You May Enjoy
Leave a review - let other readers know what you think
Index
Index

Plants, rooms, and beyond

In Chapter 5, Example - Soil Humidity Monitor with Wi-Fi, we looked at developing firmware for the ESP8266 MCU to complement a soil humidity sensor and pump, to ensure that a connected plant would be provided with sufficient water from the water tank.

As we noted in that chapter, the firmware used is highly modular and has the highly flexible MQTT-based interface so that it can be used for a wide variety of modules. This chapter covers the system in which the firmware originated: Building Management and Control (BMaC), originally developed just to monitor rooms for their temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels, but later expanded to keep tabs on coffee machines and meeting room occupancy, and ultimately to control the air-conditioning throughout the building.

 

The BMaC project's current development status can be found at the author's GitHub account at https://github.com/MayaPosch/BMaC. The version we are covering here is as it exists at this point, with us covering...

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