Embedded Software

Development Tools
 Host and Target Machines
• The programming work for embedded systems is
done on a host, a computer system on which all
the programming tools run.
• After the program has been written, complied,
assembled, and linked is it moved to the target,
the system that is shipped to customers.
 Cross Compliers
• Most of the desktop systems used as hosts come
with compilers, assemblers, linkers, and so on for
building programs that will run on the host.
• These tools are called as the native tools.
• The complier that runs on your host system but
produces the binary instructions understood by the
target microprocessor is called as cross compiler.
 Cross Compliers
• A cross complier understands the same C
language as a native complier (with few
exceptions), but its output uses the instruction set
of the target cross complier.
 Cross Assemblers & Tool chains
• Cross assembler is an assembler that runs on
your host but produces binary instructions
appropriate for your target.
• The input to the cross-assembler must be
assembly language appropriate for the target.
• Output files from each tool become the input
files for the next.Because of this ,the tools must
be compatible with one another.
• A set of tools that is compatible in this way is
called a tool chain.
 Linker/locators for Embedded
Software
• A linker/locator combines separately
compiled and assembled modules into an
executable image.
• In addition ,it places code,data,startup
code,constant strings,and so on at
suitable addresses in ROM and RAM
 Address Resolution
• The native linker creates a file on the disk drive of
the host system that is read by a part of the
operating system called loader.
• The first difference between a native linker and a
locator is the nature of the output files that they
create.
• The loader finds memory into which to load the
program, copies the program from the disk into the
memory, and may then do various other processing
before starting the program.
 Address Resolution
• The locator creates a file that will be used
by some program that copies the output to
the target system.
• Later,the output from the locator will have
to run on its own.
• One problem in particular that the tool
chain must solve is that many
microprocessor instrucions contain the
addresses of their operands.
 Address Resolution
• Example
• The MOVE instruction in ABBOTT.c that loads
the value of the variable I dunno into register R1
must contain the address of the variable I
dunno.
• Similarly,the call to whosonfirst must eventually
turn into a binary CALL instruction that contains
the address of whosonfirst.
• The process of solving this problem is often
called address resolution.
 Address Resolution
• When it is compiling ABBOTT.c the
compiler has no idea what the addresses
of idunno and whosonfirst will be.
• Therefore ,it leaves flags in the object file
ABBOTT.OBJ for the linker,indicating that
the address of idunno must be patched
into the MOVE instruction and that the
address of whosonfirst must be patched
into the CALL instruction.
 Address Resolution
• When it is compiling COSTELLO.c, the compiler leaves a
flag in the object file indicating the location of whosonfirst
within the object file COSTELLO.OBJ.
• When the linker puts the two object files together, it figures
out wher idunno and whosonfirst are in relation to the start
of the ececutable image and places that information in the
executable file.
• After trhe loader copies the program iinto memory,it knows
exactly where idunno and whosonfirst are in memory, and
it can fix up the CALL andMOVE instructions that originally
came from ABBOTT.c with those address.