Summary

While embedded systems come in a fascinating array of variations, at the lowest hardware levels they usually have many general similarities. Memory systems interface with CPU via address and data buses. Systems interface with development hosts via serial ports. Watchdog timers supply robust operation even in the presence of intermittent software and hardware bugs . Knowing the general structure of these common facilities gives you a useful framework for learning the specifics of new systems.

The hardware coverage in this chapter wont make you a hardware guru, but it should prepare you to better understand the documentation for your particular hardware. More importantly (for the purposes of the book), it should prepare you to understand the hardware issues discussed in later chapters.

Where this chapter described primarily hardware features, the next chapter focuses on software issues specifically on how to compile and load programs for an embedded target. More than anything else, these two issues, the need for greater knowledge about the hardware and the need for tools that work in a cross-development environment, separate embedded systems from application development.