It's time to get a good bead on Baremetal C programming for embedded systems. Baremetal C programming has changed in recent years; it now provides product enhancements at low cost. "Baremetal C used to be very focused on streamlining everything to the point of even writing the programs in assembly," said Jacob Beningo, a certified software development professional. "With the architectures available, the availability of large amounts of flash-on-chip for minimal cost, now is the time to really focus on baremetal code that is reusable, modular, and portable."

Beningo will lead a Continuing Education Center class entitled, Baremetal C Programming for Embedded Systems beginning Monday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. Eastern. This free class will run for an hour each day through Feb. 27.

Sign up for Baremetal C Programming for Embedded Systems today.

Beningo will look at the types of products that carry embedded systems, since they've changed remarkably in recent years. "The microcontrollers themselves have grown drastically in capability allowing for more sophisticated programming techniques to be employed that allow for better code reuse with less focus on code size," he said. "The compilers and optimizer have improved so that there is less concern about using techniques that used to be considered too slow or too bloated to use in a real-time system."

As for the future of C programming for embedded systems, Beningo says the horizon looks promising. "C programming has continued to be the language of choice for embedded systems despite the availability of other languages such as C++, Ada, or Java," he said. "C will continue to be used for years to come with code generators and other tools helping to speed up the development effort, as well."

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This is an important class, since complex and high-end systems are moving to more model-based development-type environments. "These tools are often costly and have steep learning curves which makes them unsuitable for small or medium-size businesses that are trying to rapidly deploy a product on a tight budget and schedule," said Beningo. "With a good understanding of baremetal techniques, driver design, and software architecture you can do in a few weeks what used to take months to develop."

Rob Spiegel has covered automation and control for 15 years, 12 of them for Design News. Other topics he has covered include supply chain technology, alternative energy, and cyber security. For 10 years he was owner and publisher of the food magazine, Chile Pepper.