Better Embedded System Software

What Hacker News says

1. buescherAug 2022
   Koopman's more recent "Better Embedded System Software" is a great overview of its subject.
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2. swahMar 2017
   Other than the latest MISRA, I really enjoyed "Better Embedded System Software" by Phil Koopman.

   Ideally you should read it before starting your project, since it deal with the product specification/gathering requirements phase, which is your starting point in safety critical systems.

   [1] https://betterembsw.blogspot.com.br/2010/05/test-post.html

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3. teslaboxOct 2022
   The investigation found the code was a mess:

   “Michael Barr, a well-respected embedded software specialist, spent more than 20 months reviewing Toyota’s source code at one of five cubicles in a hotel-sized room, supervised by security guards, who ensured that entrants brought no paper in or out, and wore no belts or watches. Barr testified about the specifics of Toyota’s source code, based on his 800-page report. Phillip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University professor in computer engineering, a safety critical embedded systems specialist, authored a textbook, Better Embedded System Software, and performs private industry embedded software design reviews – including in the automotive industry – testified about Toyota’s engineering safety process. Both used a programmer’s derisive term for what they saw: spaghetti code – badly written and badly structured source code.

   “Barr testified:

   “There are a large number of functions that are overly complex. By the standard industry metrics some of them are untestable, meaning that it is so complicated a recipe that there is no way to develop a reliable test suite or test methodology to test all the possible things that can happen in it. Some of them are even so complex that they are what is called unmaintainable, which means that if you go in to fix a bug or to make a change, you’re likely to create a new bug in the process. Just because your car has the latest version of the firmware — that is what we call embedded software — doesn’t mean it is safer necessarily than the older one….And that conclusion is that the failsafes are inadequate. […]”

   - https://www.safetyresearch.net/toyota-unintended-acceleratio...

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4. leoedinJun 2015
   The criticism of global variable count comes straight from Phillip Koopman, "a Carnegie Mellon University professor in computer engineering, a safety critical embedded systems specialist, authored a textbook, Better Embedded System Software".

   So this isn't a web developer providing criticism, but someone with extensive experience in embedded software development. Perhaps reading the article linked before jumping to conclusions might be useful!

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