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March 28, 2012July 17, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Virtual Hardware Platforms: Test & Debug Software Before the Silicon is Ready

Historically software could only be tested and debugged when the first silicon sample was ready, and the software team could not participate in the design process. But thanks to Virtual Hardware Platforms, software can be executed at speeds close to real time on an abstract model of the hardware, available long before a design has been completed. The virtual platform is designed to simplify the creation and support of virtual prototypes and allow design teams to begin developing software weeks to months before a hardware prototype is available, and software teams can use it as their application development platform. For example, Freescale is using a Virtual Hardware Platform for their new Vybrid Controllers to emulate both Cortex A5 and Cortex M4 cores, as well as peripherals and run OS such as Linux or MQX before the Controllers are ready (Q2 2012). One Virtual Hardware Platform has just won the ACE […]

March 5, 2012March 5, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Protecode System 4 Helps Managing Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX) Files

Some days ago, I posted a presentation about SPDX (Software Portable Data Exchange), a new standard file format to share open source licenses. This took place at the Linux Embedded Linux Conference, mid- February 2012 and the presenter said SPDX was still in its infancy, nobody formally adopted it and current tools would take input from an excel file and convert it into an XML/RDF SPDX file. However, Protecode, a company specialized in open source license management solutions, has already a management suite called Protecode System 4 that can handle SPDX format among other things. Here’s how the company describes Protecode System 4: Protecode System 4 is a complete license management solution for all stages of the software development process. Protecode System 4 enables users to manage open source and third party license compliance by providing a list of all open source components that exist in a software product along […]

February 27, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

LAVA Project Update – ELC 2012

Paul Larson of Linaro gives a LAVA Project update at Embedded Linux Conference 2012. Abstract: The Linaro Automated Validation Architecture (LAVA) is an open source framework used at Linaro for running automated tests on Ubuntu and Android based images, kernels, and more. I introduced LAVA at ELC a year ago. Since that time, considerable progress has been made on the project, and many new components have been added to it. This talk will briefly re-introduce the project to those who may not have heard about it, as well as introduce the new developments. You can download the presentation slides at elinux.org. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

February 13, 2012February 13, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Embedded World Conference 2012 Schedule

The Embedded World Conference 2012 will taken place on the February 28 – March 1 in Nuremberg, Germany. There will be over 1,000 exhibitors for the tenth conference (it started in 2003) showcasing their new products and solutions for the embedded markets. Beyond the exhibition, there will also be 13 classes and 22 sessions during those 3 days. February 28th 2012 Classes: 09:30 – 15:30 – Modeling Behavior with UML: Interactions and Statecharts by Dr. Bruce Douglass, IBM 16:00 – 17:00 – Agile Systems Engineering by Dr. Bruce Douglass, IBM 09:30 – 18:00 – Introduction to Real-Time Operating Systems by Dr. David Kalinsky, D. Kalinsky Associates 09:30 – 18:00 – Hands-on-Workshop Safety Critical Linux – Automated debugging and code screening with formal methods by Prof. Nicholas Mc Guire, OSADL Safety Critical Linux Working Group and Andreas Platschek, OpenTech. 09:30 – 16:30 – Cryptography and embedded Security – The Workshop chaired […]

January 31, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Debugging Embedded Linux with GDBserver and Insight (gdb GUI)

Although it it sometimes possible to debug applications using GDB (The GNU Debugger) on the target boards, there is often not enough memory available to run GDB on embedded systems running Linux. To work around this issue, you can use gdbserver to perform remote debugging. Installing and running gdbserver on the target board First of all you need to install gdbserver on the target board. Assuming you use a Debian based distribution:

apt-get install gdbserver

1	apt-get install gdbserver

If you distribution, does not have binary repository, you can download gdb source code and cross-compile gdbserver. Once gdbserver is installed, (cross-)compile your application in debug mode and start gdbserver as follows:

gdbserver target_ip:target_port prog_dbg

1	gdbserver target_ip:target_port prog_dbg

Where target_ip and target_port are respectively the IP address of the board and the chosen TCP port, and prog_dbg, the program under test compile in debug mode (CFLAGS=-g). Remote Debugging with GDB If you are familiar with gdb and prefer to use the command […]

January 20, 2012January 20, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Android Developers Conference 2012 (AnDevCon III) Schedule

The full schedule for AnDevCon III (14-17 May 2012) has finally been released with 42 different classes and several workshops. The sessions will be organized into five subject area: Developer Essentials: These technical classes and workshops are for all Android developers and cover all programming topics. Android Enterprise: These technical sessions cover topics specific to building and managing apps for employees, business customers and partners, such as back-end integration corporate data center communications, ERP or CRM systems. Android Business: These classes and workshops are for entrepreneurial developers who want to learn the most effective ways of distributing and selling Android apps, including how to maximize profit through the Android Market. Android Tablets and beyond: These classes and workshops are specific to commercial devices beyond smartphones, including tablets, Google TV, and other platforms. Embedded Android: These classes and workshops are for developers working close to the hardware, such as on custom […]

December 20, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Bsquare Releases TestQuest 10 for Android and Windows Embedded

BSQUARE announced the availability of TestQuest 10, a new test automation technology suite that brings together key features of TestQuest Pro (automated test solution for embedded systems) and TestQuest CountDown (mobile devices and applications testing) and adds new functionality to create a new and powerful test automation solution, that aims at reducing test costs and complexity. Here are TestQuest 10 highlights: Reduces per test pass costs and complexity of test case development by integrating with popular tools Scalable automation enables test case reuse across multiple devices increasing execution accuracy Supports test execution on desktop prototypes, emulators and simulators enabling test execution to start before production hardware is available Supports testing for devices running on Android and Windows Embedded platforms Improved intelligent text recognition and language capabilities — up to 92% processing speed improvement TestQuest 10 is comprises of three components: Test Designer – Creates automated tests quickly for test case […]

November 17, 2011November 17, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Technologies and Techniques to Accelerate Embedded Development

I’ve recently attended a webinar entitled “Accelerate Your Next Embedded Development Project: Essential Tools and Techniques for Every Phase of Your Project Lifecycle” presented by Wind river and VDC Research. The two speakers were: Marc Brown, Wind River VP, Tools and Marketing Operation. Christopher Rommel, Senior Analyst at VDC Research. The webinar was composed of three sections: Industry Challenges. (Wind River) Embedded Development: Data and Trends. (VDC Research) New ways to accelerate development (Wind River) Industry challenges Marc describes the new challenges for device software drivers: Increased security, safety and quality requirements for connectivity Performance scalability: multi-cores, many cores and SoC support. Pressure to lower OPEX (Operating Expenses) Companies are now pushed to increase performance, become more cost effective and provide a better connectivity while at the same time decrease time to market, project risks and security issues. Data and Trends Christopher first present a slide showing there are still […]