H/W to S/W Interfacing Techniques

The system is to be divided into some number of hardware and software blocks with appropriate means of interconnection.

The primary ways of connecting H/W to S/W are:

• CPU coprocessor and/or custom instructions,
• Packet channel connected as coprocessor or mapped to main register file,
• Programmed I/O to pin-level GPIO register,
• Programmed I/O to FIFOs,
• Interrupts (hardwired to one core or dynamically dispatched),
• Pseudo-DMA: processor generates addresses and device snoops data,
• DMA.

Embedded Systems Hardware for Software Engineers describes the electrical and electronic circuits that are used in embedded systems, their functions, and how they can be interfaced to other devices. Basic computer architecture topics, memory, address decoding techniques, ROM, RAM, DRAM, DDR, cache memory, and memory hierarchy are discussed. The book covers key architectural features of widely used microcontrollers and microprocessors, including Microchip's PIC32, ATMEL's AVR32, and Freescale's MC68000. Interfacing to an embedded system is then described. Data acquisition system level design considerations and a design example are presented with real-world parameters and characteristics. Serial interfaces such as RS-232, RS-485, PC, and USB are addressed and printed circuit boards and high-speed signal propagation over transmission lines are covered with a minimum of math. A brief survey of logic families of integrated circuits and programmable logic devices is also contained in this in-depth resource.

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