C++ in Embedded Systems: A practical transition from C to modern C++

Cover....1

FM....2

Foreword....5

Contributors....6

Table of Contents....8

Preface....18

Part I: Introduction to C++ in Embedded Development....26

Chapter 1: Debunking Common Myths about C++....28

Technical requirements....29

A short history of C++....29

C with Classes....31

Modern C++....31

Generic types....33

Ring buffer in C....33

Ring buffer in C++....40

constexpr....42

Bloat and runtime overhead....46

Constructors and destructors....46

Optimization....51

Templates....53

RTTI and exceptions....55

Summary....58

Join our community on Discord....59

Chapter 2: Challenges in Embedded Systems with Limited Resources....60

Technical requirements....61

Safety-critical and hard real-time embedded systems....61

Airbag control unit and real-time requirements....61

Measuring firmware performance and non-determinism....64

A-B timing and real-time execution....64

Sotware instrumentation with GCC....65

Determinism vs. Non-Determinism in Firmware....66

Dynamic memory management....67

Memory fragmentation....68

Safety-critical guidelines for dynamic memory management in C++....69

Dynamic memory management in the C++ standard library....70

Disabling unwanted C++ features....76

Summary....78

Chapter 3: Embedded C++ Ecosystem....80

Technical requirements....81

Compilers and development environments....81

Arm Keil MDK and Arm Compiler for Embedded....83

IAR C/C++ Compiler and IAR Embedded Workbench for Arm....84

Vendor-supported IDEs and GCC....85

GCC....85

Compiler Explorer....87

Static analyzers....89

Unit testing....93

Profiling....98

Summary....100

Join our community on Discord....100

Chapter 4: Setting Up the Development Environment for a C++ Embedded Project....102

Technical requirements....103

Requirements for a modern software development environment....103

Compiler....103

Build automation....104

Simulator....105

Code editor....105

Containerized development environment....106

Building the Hello, World! program using CMake....108

Building a firmware using CMake....111

Containerized development environment and Visual Studio Code....112

Summary....116

Part II: C++ Fundamentals....118

Chapter 5: Classes – Building Blocks of C++ Applications....120

Technical requirements....121

Encapsulation....121

Setters and getters....123

Static methods....124

Structs....125

Storage duration and initialization....126

Non-static member initialization....127

Default member initializers....127

Constructors and member initializer lists....127

Converting constructors and explicit specifiers....129

Static member initialization....131

Inheritance and dynamic polymorphism....133

Virtual functions....135

Virtual function implementation....136

UML class diagrams....138

Dynamic polymorphism....139

Summary....141

Join our community on Discord....141

Chapter 6: Beyond Classes – Fundamental C++ Concepts....142

Technical requirements....142

Namespaces....143

Unnamed namespaces....145

Nested namespaces....145

Function overloading....146

Interoperability with C....148

External and Language Linkage in C++....149

C standard library in C++....149

References....150

Value categories....150

Lvalue references....152

Rvalue references....152

Standard library containers and algorithms....154

Array....154

Container adaptors....156

Algorithms....157

std::copy and std::copy_if....157

std::sort....158

Summary....159

Chapter 7: Strengthening Firmware – Practical C++ Error Handling Methods....160

Technical requirements....161

Error codes and asserts....161

Global error handlers....164

Asserts....166

Exceptions....170

std:: optional and std::expected....174

Summary....177

Join our community on Discord....177

Part III: C++ Advanced Concepts....178

Chapter 8: Building Generic and Reusable Code with Templates....180

Technical requirements....181

Template basics....181

Making a call to the template function....182

Template specialization....184

Template metaprogramming....185

Concepts....189

Compile-time polymorphism....191

Using Class Templates for Compile-Time Polymorphism....191

Curiously recurring template pattern (CRTP)....193

Summary....195

Chapter 9: Improving Type-Safety with Strong Types....196

Technical requirements....197

Implicit conversion....197

Numeric promotions and conversions....199

Array-to-pointer conversion....203

Function-to-pointer conversion....205

Explicit conversion....206

const_cast....206

static_cast....207

dynamic_cast....210

reinterpret_cast....212

Type punning....214

Type punning – the correct way....216

Strong types....217

Summary....223

Join our community on Discord....223

Chapter 10: Writing Expressive Code with Lambdas....224

Technical requirements....225

Lambda expression basics....225

Storing lambdas using std::function....228

The command pattern....231

GPIO interrupt manager....232

std::function and dynamic memory allocation....237

Summary....239

Chapter 11: Compile-Time Computation....240

Technical requirements....240

Templates....241

constexpr specifier....243

Example 1 – MAC address parser....245

Example 2 – Generating a lookup table....248

Generating a lookup table....252

Writing a signal representing the Steinhart-Hart equation....255

Analyzing the usage example firmware code....259

consteval specifier....260

Summary....262

Join our community on Discord....262

Part IV: Applying C++ to Solving Embedded Domain Problems....264

Chapter 12: Writing C++ HAL....266

Technical requirements....267

Memory-mapped peripherals....267

CMSIS memory-mapped peripherals....267

Memory-mapped peripherals in C++....269

Type-safe memory-mapped peripherals in C++....272

Modeling HSION and HSITRIM bit fields from the RCC register....274

Generic versions of hsion and hsi_trim....277

Timers....278

Summary....283

Chapter 13: Working with C Libraries....284

Technical requirements....284

Using C HAL in C++ projects....285

UART interface for flexible software design....285

The UART interface in the Adapter pattern....289

Introducing static classes....290

Using RAII for wrapping the littlefs C library....292

LittleFS – a filesystem for microcontrollers....293

Introducing an RAII-based C++ wrapper....296

Cleaner file management with RAII....299

Summary....300

Join our community on Discord....300

Chapter 14: Enhancing Super-Loop with Sequencer....302

Technical requirements....303

Super-loop and motivation for a sequencer....303

Designing a sequencer....305

Storing a callable....308

Implementing a sequencer....312

Summary....315

Chapter 15: Practical Patterns – Building a Temperature Publisher....316

Technical requirements....317

The Observer pattern....317

Runtime implementation....319

Compile-time implementation....322

Leveraging variadic templates....323

Improving the compile-time implementation....327

Summary....329

Join our community on Discord....329

Chapter 16: Designing Scalable Finite State Machines....330

Technical requirements....331

FSM – a simple implementation....331

Describing states and events....333

Tracking current state and handling events – the FSM class....334

Using the ble_fsm class....336

Analyzing the output....337

FSM – implementation using the State pattern....338

Understanding state class interfaces....338

Refactoring the ble_fsm class....341

Implementing the State pattern....342

State design pattern....344

State pattern implementation using tag dispatching....345

Boost SML....347

Chapter 17: Libraries and Frameworks....352

Technical requirements....353

Standard library....353

Freestanding and hosted implementations in GCC....353

Numeric and math....354

....354

....354

....355

Containers and algorithms....355

std::array....355

std:: priority_queue....355

std:: span....355

Iterators....356

Algorithms....357

Template metaprogramming....357

Parts of the standard library to avoid in embedded applications....358

Embedded template library....358

Fixed-size containers....359

Storing a callable with etl::delegate....359

Other utilities provided by ETL....359

Pigweed....360

Pigweed’s Sense tutorial....360

RPC and Protocol Buffers....365

Compile-time Initialization and Build....368

Using CIB in a temperature publisher example....369

Extending the temperature publisher example....371

Summary....375

Chapter 18: Cross-Platform Development....376

Technical requirements....376

Importance of writing portable code....377

SOLID design principles....377

Single Responsibility Principle (SRP)....381

Open/Closed Principle (OCP)....382

The Liskov Substitution Principle (LSP)....382

The Interface Segregation Principle (ISP)....382

The Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP)....382

Testability....383

Summary....386

Join our community on Discord....387

Why subscribe?....388

Other Books You May Enjoy....390

Index....394

Go beyond C by applying modern C++ in embedded systems to enhance code readability, maintainability, and scalability

Key Features

• Bridge the gap between C and modern C++ for embedded systems through practical examples
• Learn how to save memory and cut down on runtime computing using compile-time computation techniques
• Improve your software design skills by applying patterns to solve common problems in embedded systems using C++
• Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

Transitioning from C can be daunting, with concerns about performance overhead, added complexity, and unfamiliar tooling. Addressing these challenges, Amar Mahmutbegovic, an advocate for modern C++ in embedded development, shows you how to harness zero-cost abstractions, compile-time checks, and powerful modern C++ capabilities to preserve performance while achieving safer, cleaner code. This book bridges the gap between traditional C and advanced C++, helping you retain the efficiency C developers demand while unlocking the safety and expressiveness of modern C++. Starting with a modern development environment setup, including a Docker container for seamless example replication, you’ll overcome the hurdles of using the C++ standard library in memory-constrained settings and get acquainted with the Embedded Template Library (ETL) as an alternative. The book walks you through essential C++ concepts before exploring advanced topics such as templates, strong typing, error handling, compile-time computation, and RAII. Through practical examples, you'll implement a sequencer, write a type-safe HAL, and apply patterns like Command, State, and Observer to solve common embedded development problems. By the end of this book, you’ll have learned how to apply modern C++ to develop robust, modular firmware with performance matching or exceeding hand-coded C solutions.

What you will learn

• Debunk myths and misconceptions about using C++ in embedded systems
• Set up build automation tailored for C++ in constrained environments
• Leverage strong typing to improve type safety
• Apply modern C++ techniques, such as Resource Acquisition Is Initialization (RAII)
• Use Domain Specific Language (DSL) with a practical example using Boost SML
• Implement software development best practices, including the SOLID principle, in embedded development

Who this book is for

This book is for embedded developers who primarily use C and want to adopt a modern C++ approach. It introduces fundamental C++ concepts, making it suitable for beginners, while also assuming basic familiarity to fully leverage advanced features like compile-time computation. Even those with prior C++ experience will discover new ways to apply modern best practices to write more efficient and maintainable embedded applications.