Software for embedded systems means writing code for a microprocessor with specs straight out of the 80s. But that doesn’t mean that embedded developers should be afraid of using the best tools that modern languages have to offer. This talk will explore embedded development through the source code of a modern C++ implementation of the RTPS (Real-Time Publish/Subscribe) wire protocol. Our targeting ARM STM32 microcontrollers (but generalizable to many platforms). We will put zero-cost abstractions to the test as we attempt to fit a system conforming to a 200-page OMG specification document onto an MCU with 384 KB of RAM and 2048 KB of flash. At a higher level, we will discuss the philosophy of using high-level abstractions in a low-level environment, and seek to settle the score with old-school C microcontroller hackers.
