[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index]
gEDA-user: the Embedded Muse
If anyone reads Embedded Systems Magazine, you may already know of Jack
Ganssle. If not, he writes a monthly column for the magazine. I
subscribe to his somewhat monthly newsletter. Well, last month he wrote
about a bunch of freeware tools. I noticed that he didn't mention
anything about gEda, so I dropped him a note. He wrote back to say he
hadn't heard of it, but would look into it. To my surprise, he quoted me
in this months newslettter. Have a look - the entire newsletter is
attached below (search for 'geda' if you don't feel like reading the
whole thing)
gene
--------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Embedded Muse 148 Copyright 2007 TGG August 27, 2007
----------------------------------------------------------------
You may redistribute this newsletter for noncommercial purposes. For
commercial use contact info@xxxxxxxxxxxx
EDITOR: Jack Ganssle, jack@xxxxxxxxxxx
CONTENTS:
- Editor's Notes
- Secure Software
- Tools and Tips
- Jobs!
- Joke for the Week
- About The Embedded Muse
Editor's Notes
--------------
Did you know it IS possible to create accurate schedules? Or that
most projects consume 50% of the development time in debug and test,
and that it's not hard to slash that number drastically? Or that we
know how to manage the quantitative relationship between complexity
and bugs? Learn this and far more at my Better Firmware Faster class,
presented at your facility. See http://www.ganssle.com/classes.htm .
I'll be speaking at the new Embedded Systems Conference in Bangalore,
India in October, the always-fun East coast show in Boston in
mid-September, and at Oredev in Malmo, Sweden in November. In
addition, Omniscient International is sponsoring the class in
Singapore and Malaysia in October (see http://omniscient-intl.com/).
I'm always peppered with email from companies looking for
consultants. A lot of Muse subscribers are. Why not send me your
profile so I can connect folks based on their services? Send your
specialties and geographic region.
The sheer number of blogs is overwhelming. It's hard to find any
worth following. But Steve Leibson's at
http://www.edn.com/index.asp?layout=blog&blog_id=980000298 is always
interesting. He's also a big fan of the history of this industry, and
serves as a docent at The Computer History Museum
(http://www.computerhistory.org/ ) in Mountain View, CA. When he gave
me a tour he told me that for most folks it's only an hour. But for
us, figure on three. And what a tour it was. If you're out there it's
a must-see.
I enjoyed an article in the August 2007 issue of IEEE Computer. Les
Hatton, noted software researcher wrote "The Chimera of Software
Quality." A particularly noteworthy excerpt: "Computer Science
regrettably operates in a largely measurement-free zone. Researchers
do few experiments, and even fewer publish their results. . As a
result, software development isn't an engineering industry, but a
fashion industry populated by unquantifiable statements and driven by
marketing needs. We are exhorted to develop using JavaBeans, OO, or
UML because these technologies will supposedly fulfill our wildest
dreams."
Secure Software
---------------
It's hardly novel to say software security is important. What hasn't
gotten much mind-share is secure embedded software. We talk a lot
about reliable designs but usually security takes a back seat. Yet so
many of our creations are linked to the Internet, and are subject to
all of those threats.
In fact, last week Forbes magazine had an article
(http://www.forbes.com/security/2007/08/22/scada-hackers-infrastructure-tech-security-cx_ag_0822hack.html
) about hacking the SCADA systems that control all sorts of industrial
processes, including nuclear power plants. These are all traditional
embedded systems, some of quite of ancient heritage. Some are
connected to the Internet.
A few companies, like Green Hills, are aggressively creating products
positioned to deal with these threats, but they are in the minority.
Clearly, secure embedded technology will become a huge issue in the
next few years.
Rod Chapman of Praxis and SPARK fame sent me a link to a new report
called Software Security Assurance
(http://iac.dtic.mil/iatac/download/security.pdf ). It's very long
(396 pages) but is absolutely topical. Like all of these things it's
wordy and full of acronym soup, but does make some interesting and
important points. A lot is less useful, but everyone should read the
section starting on page 170 about design principles for secure
software. There's nothing startling there, but somehow these ideas
continue to be neglected.
The table on pages 139-140 offers a great summary of what makes good
requirements.
The report is really a compendium of pointers to other sources. I
recommend at least a quick look at it.
Tools and Tips
--------------
Greg Bollendonk and I corresponded about his search for a SEC/DED
EDAC algorithm. He found some useful resources: "We found a good
reference for 32-bit SEC/DED EDAC (Hamming code) algorithms in
Hacker's Delight by Henry S. Warren, Jr. (Addison-Wesley, 2003). This
book contains a collection of programming tricks the author ran across
over his career, and sells for $32.61 on Amazon. The author is a PhD
in computer science and worked 40 years at IBM; it looks like he is
currently working on the Blue Gene petaflop computer project.
"Lots of good stuff here - http://www.hackersdelight.org/
"Of particular note is CRC and Hamming code algorithms -
http://www.hackersdelight.org/HDcode/newCode/crc.c
http://www.hackersdelight.org/HDcode/newCode/hamming.c
"The Hamming code example (hamming.c) includes a test driver that
generates a series of random 32-bit data words, corrupts them (or
their parity bits) by altering 0, 1, or 2 bits, and checks the
corrected value."
Gene Glick sent this: "Regarding free tools, are you aware of the
gEda stuff? Although it's all Linux based, there's a ton of goodness
there (schematic entry, spice, Verilog simulator, PCB layout, et. al).
Support is via a very active mail list (btw, the list community
contains people from a very large background, asking questions to just
about anything will get an answer) Go check out www.geda.seul.org
"I totally agree about LT Switcher Cad. I use it constantly. Yes,
third party models integrate just fine - although you have to go
beyond the GUI to make them work, sometimes - which requires at least
a small underlying understanding of spice syntax. Also, I have found
Mike E. to be very knowledgeable and quick to answer all questions
about switcher cad."
Jobs!
-----
Let me know if you're hiring firmware or embedded designers. No
recruiters please, and I reserve the right to edit ads to fit the
format and intents of this newsletter.
Cattron Group, a progressive, growing, innovative leader in wireless
remote control systems seeks seasoned embedded developer for global
New Product Development group. We believe people are our most valuable
asset and given proper tools and support they will succeed. We have
engineering operations at locations in Montreal, Toronto, Escondido,
CA, Sharpsville, PA and M�nchengladbach, Germany. Contact
jelson@xxxxxxxxxxx
Here is what you get to do. Contribute to senior-level team creating
innovative wireless solutions Participate in all phases of embedded
development.
We have a lot to talk about if you have a BS EE/CS/CE with 10+ years
embedded development, ability to read schematics, develop low-level
drivers, use development tools and debuggers, and experience with
safety-critical design.
Asco Power Technologies, an industry leader in the manufacturing of
automatic transfer switches, industrial control products and power
control systems, has an excellent opportunity for an Embedded Systems
Developer in our Software Engineering Department at our Florham Park,
NJ facility.
The successful candidate will have a BSEE or CS, MS preferred.
Position requires 3-5 years proven experience in embedded systems
software/firmware development in C/C++. Experience with network
communication protocols (TCP/IP) is also required. Background or
experience in controls systems, RTOS, Java & USB a plus. Key
responsibilities will be to design, test & document embedded software
for new products. Will also be responsible for design-related
documentation inclusive of specification writing, architecting,
flowcharting, test planning & testing summary. Good communication
skills along with the ability to work in a fast-paced team environment
is necessary to be successful in this position. Candidate must also
possess strong problem solving skills and a demonstrated ability to
analyze and articulate technical problems.
ASCO offers a challenging work environment, opportunities for growth,
salaries commensurate with experience and a solid benefits package
that includes bonus, profit sharing, 401(k) plan, medical, dental,
life insurance and other benefits. Visit our web site at www.asco.com
for additional information on the company. For immediate
consideration, please e-mail your resume, with salary history to
smoran@xxxxxxxxx ASCO is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Do you have skills in embedded hardware and software development,
like to solve problems, and want to interact with customers? We are
looking for applications engineers who can program in C/C++ and
assembly, can use JTAG debuggers, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and
have experience developing BSPs and drivers. Familiarity with the
cellular industry and multimedia codecs is a plus. International
travel may be required. Please contact samuel.h.tao@xxxxxxxxx for more
details. Please include the expression in your subject line.
I work at a start-up company that is looking for QA, Software and
Electrical engineers. The site is www.anseri.com/careers.html. Job
Descriptions follow. They can forward resumes to me at
passas.s@xxxxxxxxxx and I will give them to our hiring manager.
APCC is looking for a few good people. For instance:
SR FIMWARE ENGINEER
Senior position to design and implement embedded systems which
incorporate structured firmware to serve real time state machines,
closed-loop digital control, monitoring and communications functions
for UPS products. Position requires candidate to design, implement,
and validate embedded system firmware using structured 'C', and
occasional assembly programming; specify and implement microcontroller
and support hardware; perform execution time analysis and present
design results for formal review; participate in subsystem and system
level design verification planning and testing. Also assist in
production implementation of microcontroller programming and in vendor
implementation of masked microcontroller
BS/MSEE with 5 to 8 years experience in writing embedded control
systems that contain real time and interrupt driven applications. The
following skills are required:
C Programming, (Structured, well documented code),
Assembly programming
Demonstrated ability with development tools including Emulators, IDE,
and Version Control Software
Good documentation and communication skills to communicate firmware
implementations to non-firmware engineers
Experience in closed loop digital control implementation, Experience
with power electronic systems desireable.
Good software development practices are required.
Additionally the successful candidate should be able to work in a
dynamic environment; to work within a team or independently; to be
results oriented and customer focused are essential to the position.
Good estimation skills and timely delivery of completed code is
required.
Position based in Billerica. Contact Tom Bianda- 978-670-2440x17246
or e-mail tom.bianda@xxxxxxxx
Philips Medical Systems in Seattle, WA is looking for an embedded
software engineer.
Responsibilities: Architect, design, develop, and test embedded
software for a portable medical device. Create and edit documents such
as software development plans, software requirements, and software
design descriptions. Evaluate microprocessors and associated tools
such as compilers, emulators, and debuggers. Participate in and lead
code and design reviews. Assist in developing verification and
validation test plans and procedures.
Profile: Minimum 5 years experience in real-time software design,
development, and test. Bachelor's degree in related field is required.
Fluent in C. Experience using C++ in an embedded system is a plus.
Solid background in software design using UML. Excellent written and
verbal communication skills. Must have a strong background in software
engineering principles and practices. Knowledge of and experience with
embedded operating systems and task-based system design is highly
desired.
Apply at: http://www.philips.com/about/careers/index.page and search
using job ID 45231
Joke for the Week
-----------------
Bob Paddock sent this link to a good cartoon about compiling:
http://xkcd.com/303/
About The Embedded Muse
-----------------------
The Embedded Muse is a biweekly newsletter sent via email by Jack
Ganssle. Send complaints, comments, and contributions to me at
jack@xxxxxxxxxxxx
The Embedded Muse is supported by The Ganssle Group, whose mission is
to help embedded folks get better products to market faster. We offer
seminars at your site offering hard-hitting ideas - and action - you
can take now to improve firmware quality and decrease development
time. Contact us at info@xxxxxxxxxxx for more information.
--
If you do not want to receive any more newsletters,
http://www.jackganssle.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=6b1404729c8b05ae743b5a1b70b60c71
To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit
http://www.jackganssle.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=6b1404729c8b05ae743b5a1b70b60c71
Forward a Message to Someone
http://www.jackganssle.com/lists/?p=forward&uid=6b1404729c8b05ae743b5a1b70b60c71&mid=14
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
_______________________________________________
geda-user mailing list
geda-user@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user