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If you're interested in embedded there must be things you want to build with it. So build something you want to build. What kind of project do you mean, anywa

If you're interested in embedded there must be things you want to build with it. So build something you want to build. What kind of project do you mean, anyway? Embedded is partly about software and partly about hardware. I'm a programmer who dabbles in hardware. For many of the embedded ideas I think about, the software challenges are not too bad, but the hardware issues are above my pay grade. Do you want to build interesting hardware, or only write code? Do you want to only develop programming chops, or also domain skills that will require a fair amount of study, such as DSP algorithms? Do you only want to program microprocessors, or also FPGA's? It would be nice if you could say more about your interests and goals. That would make it easier to suggest projects. I'm not that big on the concept of trying to learn a topic by doing a project anyway. Better to have the low level pieces together first, and put them together into a project afterwards.

bush-bby 5y ago
All aspects that you mention...I find value in it all...It'd be a shame to be forced to choose only one medium. I posed the question with a low-level of specificity on purpose...I want as many opinions and ideas as possible in regards to the parameters which I chose intently... Also I whole-heartedly disagree with an assertion that learning a topic must be top-down or bottom-up. My experience shows me I learn best when trying to apply concepts I may not fully understand, as the aspects where my knowledge is lacking are quickly highlighted.
- throwaway81523 5y ago
  Well learning methods are a matter of personal style, so whatever works for you. But it's important to come away with thorough understanding at the end, rather than "I tried X and it worked, so X must be the right way to do it". Anyway your question is so vague as it stands, that I can't make concrete suggestions. How about this: what are some embedded things you have already done, and what parts interested you? Or, why do you want to program embedded in the first place? Embedded programming is often just a resource-constrained version of programming bigger computers. Unless you're sort of forced into that by end-goal requirements, you might as well program bigger computers so you can solve bigger problems, have more convenient dev tools, etc. If you're pursuing embedded without having an end goal that needs it, it sounds to me like you're just drifting. (Added:) Hmm ok, here is one idea that I think is cool: get some popular commercial quadcopter and replace the controller code with something that you release as FOSS. That would give more freedom to lots of quadcopter users. There is something like that on an old Adacore page, but I don't think it fits existing popular hardware. Another: watch some "Stuff Made Here" videos on youtube for inspiration. That guy builds stuff with a lot of code inside. Also not mentioned: what is your budget? For a pure software project you are allowed to say "zero" since all you need is time and keystrokes. But for embedded, if you do anything interesting, you will end up accreting a workbench full of oscilloscopes, SMT rework tools, and so on. That takes $$$ not just for the gear itself, but for the living space that it will occupy if you are in a high rent location. One reason I don't do this stuff is I don't have the space for it.

bush-bby 5y ago

All aspects that you mention...I find value in it all...It'd be a shame to be forced to choose only one medium. I posed the question with a low-level of specificity on purpose...I want as many opinions and ideas as possible in regards to the parameters which I chose intently... Also I whole-heartedly disagree with an assertion that learning a topic must be top-down or bottom-up. My experience shows me I learn best when trying to apply concepts I may not fully understand, as the aspects where my knowledge is lacking are quickly highlighted.

throwaway81523 5y ago
Well learning methods are a matter of personal style, so whatever works for you. But it's important to come away with thorough understanding at the end, rather than "I tried X and it worked, so X must be the right way to do it". Anyway your question is so vague as it stands, that I can't make concrete suggestions. How about this: what are some embedded things you have already done, and what parts interested you? Or, why do you want to program embedded in the first place? Embedded programming is often just a resource-constrained version of programming bigger computers. Unless you're sort of forced into that by end-goal requirements, you might as well program bigger computers so you can solve bigger problems, have more convenient dev tools, etc. If you're pursuing embedded without having an end goal that needs it, it sounds to me like you're just drifting. (Added:) Hmm ok, here is one idea that I think is cool: get some popular commercial quadcopter and replace the controller code with something that you release as FOSS. That would give more freedom to lots of quadcopter users. There is something like that on an old Adacore page, but I don't think it fits existing popular hardware. Another: watch some "Stuff Made Here" videos on youtube for inspiration. That guy builds stuff with a lot of code inside. Also not mentioned: what is your budget? For a pure software project you are allowed to say "zero" since all you need is time and keystrokes. But for embedded, if you do anything interesting, you will end up accreting a workbench full of oscilloscopes, SMT rework tools, and so on. That takes $$$ not just for the gear itself, but for the living space that it will occupy if you are in a high rent location. One reason I don't do this stuff is I don't have the space for it.