Embedded Test-Driven Development with an RTOS

Frameworks for Embedded TDD

Embedded TDD: Breaking the Hardware Dependency

n a previous blog post I wrote about some of the challenges facing the use of test driven development (TDD) in an embedded environment. It's important to be aware of these obstacles, but also important to keep in mind that all of them are solvable. This post deals with perhaps the most prominent problem (or at least the one I found most daunting originally): hardware dependency.

Embedded TDD Challenges

Test-driven development (TDD) is a (relatively) modern software development technique; and embedded systems inevitably lag behind the cutting-edge. Nevertheless, there's nothing special about embedded systems that negates the advantages this strategy can bring to a team.

Troubleshooting XBee Wireless Networks

Digi, through its XBee line of wireless devices, provides many kinds of self-contained RF modules. Of particular note are their modules implementing the 802.15.4 standard, for 'low-rate wireless personal area networks'. It emphasizes low-cost and low-power, making it an ideal basis for mesh networks, comprised of many individual 'nodes' – each node needing only to communicate with a few nearby peers.