Software Engineering

Development Tools Define Productivity and Success

15. März 2023, 6:00 Uhr | Christopher Smith

As always, it is exciting to be at Embedded World 2023 and see the aisles and stands filled with enthusiastic exhibitors and attendees. In case you didn't know, the embedded world main themes for 2023 are embedded, responsible and sustainable.

There is no doubt about embedded; we are agreed on that, whether you are working on the latest Software Defined Vehicle or a revolutionary new medical device. While it's cool to see all the latest technologies and products on display, remember the often hidden technologies essential to developing software. The compiler, development environment, debugger, static analysis, and hardware connected debug devices, to name a few. These are the “under the hood” essentials to every developer, but often their selection is with haste, or “off the web” or “they just came with the dev board”.

Are these software tools any good? What do you mean?

Do the compilers, debuggers and analysis tools you use make you productive?
Can your compiler cram your code into your chosen processor's small memory footprint?
Can your compiler produce high-performance optimised code that enables you to meet fast boot deadlines or efficient algorithm speed?
How quickly does your debugger lead you to identify your bug? In an hour, or day or longer?
Can you visualise your running system and see interactions with software running on other cores? Or see where a function isn’t running efficiently?
If your system has crashed, can you, from that point, debug backwards to find and eliminate the bug?

I recently had builders into my home along with plumbers, electricians, tilers, and decorators. They were all using professional tools for their trade. Talking with them, they had significant investments in the tools that made them productive and achieved the best result. They wouldn't swap their laser level for the old weight and string. Or change their cordless impact driver for a manual screwdriver.

So why do so many software developers still struggle and “make do” with the basic tools for their job? They would have been let go long ago if they were working for my builder.

Come on! Be responsible. Let's think like my builders and other skilled engineers and use embedded world to identify, then procure and adopt, the best software tools for the project. It's time to move on from unproductive software tools – that’s not sustainable; it's time for companies to re-evaluate these fundamentally essential tools to improve developer productivity, get products to market sooner and eliminate bugs quickly.

Green Hills Software

Hall 4, Booth 325