Delivering the benefits of C++ encapsulation to your embedded design

By Colin Walls, Accelerated Technology, a division of Mentor Graphics
Dec 22 2005 (13:35 PM), Embedded.com

C++ can deliver real benefits specifically for the implementation of embedded software, particularly when the concept of “encapsulation of expertise” is used. By employing this technique to take advantage of the number of specialties an embedded software team has, many programming problems, both serious and trivial, can be resolved.

Given some understanding of potential C++ overheads and the benefits of the encapsulation of expertise, trade-offs may be made in order to achieve design goals efficiently. To illustrate its effectiveness let’s look at a number of case studies, including:

1. How the nvramchar class could completely insulate the applications programmer from knowledge of the internal workings of non-volatile RAM.

2. How the technique can be used to conceal the workings of a write-only port, making its use straightforward and intuitive.

3.How to encapsulation can be used with a real-time operating system hidden from the applications programmer, making possible future changes in the RTOS, but with no impact on the applications code.

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