Netrino’s Embedded Software Boot Camp is a hands-on, one-week training course designed to develop and strengthen the embedded software programming expertise of individuals and teams. The program is available immediately to interested engineering teams. In addition, a public session of the program will be held June 9-13, 2008 at Netrino’s headquarters in Maryland.
The Boot Camp is to be formally announced at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose. It consists of a concentrated series of lectures and hands-on exercises. The sequence is designed to quickly and dramatically raise embedded software programming skills and to promote the use of industry best practices. The first two days focus on the development of device drivers using C for hardware interfacing. The next two days focus on real-time operating systems (RTOSs) and the proper use of intertask communications primitives. The final day of the program explores alternatives to preemptive operating systems, including the use of hierarchical state machines.
The training program may be customized to fit the skills and training needs of specific engineering teams. The ratio of lecture to hands-on time can be adjusted, as can the total number of days. Other options include selection of the target RTOS, processor family, and tool chain. The program will use IAR’s Embedded Workbench, J-Link, and VisualSTATE tools and target an ARM9 processor from STMicro running Micrium’s µC/OS-II real-time operating system. Student will keep a complete set of IAR tools and the STR912 development kit used in the hands-on exercises.
“Embedded software is increasingly used in applications where safety and business issues necessitate defect-free products,” explained Netrino founder Michael Barr. “Unfortunately, universities don’t adequately train engineers to be embedded software developers. And companies can’t afford the learning curve or risk of having engineers perfect their expertise while working on such a product.”