Abstract: This chapter has two important messages. One is to define the hardware/firmware interface as the junction where the hardware and the firmware meet. The second important message is the concept of putting design practices into place to avoid defects, putting in hooks to diagnose defects, and making it easy to work around defects. This chapter also defined several terms in the context of this book, such as “chip,” “best practice,” and “firmware.” Because of the nature of embedded systems, hardware design will always precede firmware design. While some tools and techniques are available to permit a more parallel effort, in the end, the hardware must be created before the firmware team can carry out its final development and testing efforts. Although a significant amount of effort is expended to ensure correct design at the hardware/firmware interface, problems will still appear when hardware and firmware are integrated as a system. Problems found in firmware are relatively easy to fix compared to problems found in hardware. This chapter provides a rigorous study of common sense approaches to chip design based on years of experience in writing firmware for chips. It captures practical and sensible ideas and applies structure and rigor to the design. The goal of the chapter is to provide principles and best practices that allow hardware and firmware engineers to improve the development and integration of embedded systems. This book is most useful during the development phase of the product, specifically during the development of both the chip and the firmware for a product.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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