One of the most confusing parts of setting your workstation up for embedded testing is just what tools you’ll need and how to install them. Fortunately the number of tools you’ll need is minimal. You need:
A compiler that builds native binaries for your workstation operating system. Unless you want a very hard time, its command line should be compatible with the UNIX cc command line. Gcc and clang both conform to this interface, and they are available for most common workstation operating systems. »
In tech we love to tell ourselves that we operate on merit. It’s nice to tell ourselves that we work at a place that only hires the best. Out of everyone else who tried to get my job, I was the best. And that is true, I was the best of the people who applied for my job. The problem is that the best way to lie is to use the truth to do it. »
I was really happy to see all the people who cam out and wanted to hear about C programming at CodeMash. It’s wonderful to find a place with so many people who share my same obscure fascination.
Books I neglected to put a bibliography into my slides, so let me address that here.
Learning C The gold standard is The C Programming Language, but the prices offered on Amazon on ridiculously high. »
In my talk Team Health for Fun and Profit I strongly advocate for working reasonable hours. The 40 hour work week was paid for in blood, and we ignore it at our peril. A person in the audience pointed out that it’s common in the tech industry for somebody who only puts in their 40 to be perceived as a “clock puncher.” Somebody with no passion for the business, not as dedicated to the goal as everyone else. »
I’ve been drinking the Test First kool-aide for years. So when I write embedded code for an Arduino, I want to test that code before pushing it to my lovingly hand-wired circuit. C doesn’t get a lot of love in the testing world, which is a shame. It’s probably easier to write automated tests for C than any other language.
One of my favorite tools for light weight testing is Unity from Throw the Switch. »