In the modern landscape of embedded software development, efficiency and safety are paramount. As applications become more complex and demands on performance and security increase, developers turn to every tool in their arsenal to meet these challenges. Enter std::uintptr_t, a data type that, while not new, is sadly overlooked in most embedded codebases. This guide aims to introduce std::uintptr_t, showcasing its benefits and demonstrating how to use it effectively in your projects. This arti...| Sticky Bits - Powered by Feabhas
The Challenge of Fixed-Size Integers Before C99 In embedded programming, before adopting the C99 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:1999), a significant challenge was ensuring the consistent sizing of key data objects. This complexity stemmed from the C standard’s (ISO/IEC 9899) non-committal stance on the size of an int. We knew: A short is a minimum of 16-bits. A long is a minimum of 32-bits. An int is somewhere between a short and a long. This flexibility boosted C’s portability, making it a favou...| Sticky Bits - Powered by Feabhas
Test-driven development (TDD) is a style of programming where coding, testing, and design are tightly interwoven. Benefits include reduction in defect rates.| Agile Alliance |
BlackHat Europe 2022 During the first week of December, I had the pleasure of attending a training course at BlackHat Europe 2022 titled Assessing and Exploiting Control Systems and IIoT run by Justin Searle. Part of the course involved Assessing and Exploiting Embedded Firmware by reading on-chip Flash using OpenOCD. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to finish the last labs during the training (we ran 9 am-6 pm each day). So I decided to follow along with the very comprehensive notes [...]| Sticky Bits - Powered by Feabhas
Dynamic polymorphism (virtual functions) is central to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). Used well, it provides hooks into an existing codebase where new functionality and behaviour can (relatively) easily be integrated into a proven, tested codebase. Subtype inheritance can bring significant benefits, including easier integration, reduced regression test time and improved maintenance. However, using virtual functions in C++ brings a runtime performance overhead. This overhead may appear inc...| Sticky Bits - Powered by Feabhas
