The automatic C/C++ code checker, lint, is a powerful but underutilized static analysis tool. The “2004 Guidelines for the Use of the C Language in Critical Systems” (a.k.a., MISRA-C) are similarly powerful and underused. On their own, lint and MISRA-C are powerful tools for preventing or detecting bugs and, thus, making embedded systems safer and more reliable. Furthermore, the value of following the MISRA-C coding guidelines is magnified many times by the use of lint or another static analysis tool as an automatic rule enforcer. This course introduces both static analysis and MISRA-C individually and demonstrates how to put them together for maximum impact.
Audience
Engineers who design and develop critical and fail-safe software systems.
Prerequisites
Working familiarity with the C programming language.
Michael Barr is an internationally recognized expert on the design of embedded computer systems. In that role, he has provided expert witness testimony in federal court, appeared on PBS’ American Business Review, and been quoted in various newspapers. He is also the author of two books and more than forty articles on related subjects. For three and a half years Michael served as editor-in-chief of Embedded Systems Programming. In addition, Michael has been a member of the advisory board of the Embedded Systems Conference. Software he wrote continues to power millions of products. Michael holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering and has lectured in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland, from which he also earned an MBA.