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What are the basics of embedded C?

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Aanya

The universe of programming languages is wide, interesting and knowledgeable! 


When you step inside this world, you will encounter several programming languages like C, C++, Python or Java alongside their interesting concepts like C classes, libraries, functions, compiler design, first and follow in compiler design and other useful concepts.


One such concept that we are going to discuss in this guide is embedded C and its basics.


Embedded C is touted as a generic programming language of C which helps the microcontroller to efficiently run and code the overall program. 


Its concepts are quite wide and should be known to all the programmers. 


Learn all the knits and grits about embedded C with this blog post and fill your knowledge base. 


Embedded C - an overview 


Before knowing the embedded C, it is essential to understand the embedded systems. These systems can be incorporated in both software and hardware to perform specialised tasks. 


These systems are best to use for both stationary or the standalone devices or can be scaled even to the large systems. 


In the software and programming field, embedded C is touted as the most popular programming language. Every processor in electronic systems has some sort of embedded system.


Several electronic devices like mobile phones, digital cameras and other gadgets have microcontrollers that are being programmed with the help of these embedded systems. 


This language helps a processor to perform specific tasks. Programming the C code in an embedded system is preferred over all other languages because of its high portability, scalability or reliability. 


Various features of embedded C includes:


  • The time taken in the development cycle can be reduced to great extent 
  • Developers are able to code easily 
  • Modifications or updates can easily be made
  • The compatibility of a given program can be enhanced with the architecture 
  • Hardware cost in case of embedded C is quite low
  • Library functions can eliminate the need to write the same code blocks 


Various data types in embedded C 


When we are talking about embedded C interview questions, we should know about various data types in C. These data types are discussed as below:


Function data types 


The embedded C programs have the capability to deal with both parameters and functions. There is a function data type which determines the value that needs to be returned  by the subroutine. 


Without any return type, the function will return the value as an integer type. It also uses the parameter data type to indicate the values that should be passed in the specific function. 


Integer data types 


There are three types of integer data types in embedded C including the int, short, long. 


On an 8 built architecture, int value will have the default size of 16 bits. Though, this size can be reduced in between the 8 bit to 16 bit to reduce the memory consumption. 


The short int specifies the integer value that ranges between one to two bits. Though, the long int can be embedded twice in the memory and is usually between the 8 bits to 16 bits.


Bit data type 


There are two main types of bit sized quantities; bit and bits. The bit will correspond to the single independent value. However, the bits variables are mainly used to collect or manage the address of 8 bits. 


Real numbers 


The real numbers and the floating data type are used in the embedded C. Real numbers also play a key role in representing the distance along the lines, negative numbers or numbers with the same digit on the decimal sides. 


Programming in the Embedded Systems 


Embedded systems have both the hardware and software. The main hardware module in this case is a processor that can be like a microcontroller or a DSP or complex programming device. 


All these devices are programmable which means that we can write programs in order to define the device. The hardware can monitor the external events and the program will manipulate the internal architecture of a hardware. 


The programming languages that use embedded systems are C, C++ or Java. 




When you study the concept of embedded C and appear for embedded C interview questions, you will come across several sub-concepts like:


Keywords 


Keywords have special meaning in compiler design. It is a crucial concept just like several other concepts including compiler types, first and follow in compiler design and other crucial concepts.


Some of the most widely used keywords in embedded C are bit, sbit, small, large and sfr. 


Comments 


Comments are touted as the readable text that help the reader to understand the code easily. They don't take the memory in the final code so they are generally ignored by a compiler. 


You can write the comments as the single line comments and the multiple line comments. 


Preprocessor directive 


The preprocessor directives in the embedded C are considered as the indication of a compiler that looks like the file or symbol but is not defined by the program. 


In case of C programming language, the preprocessor directives are mainly used with the help of # symbol. We use the preprocessor directives for indicating the header file with the help of microcontrollers. 


Global variables 


These variables are called the global variables because they can be accessed anywhere in a particular program. 




Local variable 


In comparison to the global variables, these variables are confined or restricted to a particular function. 


 Basic structure 


To understand the basics of embedded C, you need to understand its basic structure. It includes:


  • The multiline comments as —----- that are denoted with /*---- */
  • Single line comments as —----- and are denoted by // 
  • Global variables that can be accessible anywhere in the required program
  • Function declarations —-- to declare all the functions 
  • Main functions from where the variable begins {. The local variables confirm the main function. Function calls —--- for the calling function. 


Wrapping up 


Learn about the concept of embedded C with this blog post and get ready to answer all the embedded C interview questions in an ideal way.



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