It’s around Week Eight (feels longer, right?) for many of us and we’re still cooped up inside, hoping to get to all those projects that we never had time for in the past. Or maybe not.
As we’ve reported, some engineers are binging away on technical content and taking on personal projects, with web traffic and component sales to individual engineers on some sites like Digi-Key through the roof. Others are happy to put the work-related stuff aside and hone their cooking skills and share recipes instead.
But whether you do it now or bookmark it for later, if you are an engineer interested in anything embedded you should make a point of checking out EmbeddedArtistry.com. It’s a site for embedded developers run by two former Apple employees, Phillip Johnston and Rozi Harris, who also run a boutique embedded systems engineering services firm by the same name.
Philip, who specializes in firmware development and software architecture with a focus on early stage product development and improving the processes used to create new systems, has to be one of the most generous people on the planet. That’s because he freely shares his hard-won insights and experiences with the community-at-large and is very clever about the things he chooses to focus on.
Clearly, he built the site with a first-hand appreciation what it is like (at times probably a brutal experience!) coming up the learning curve for embedded systems design.
From original articles and links to useful resources to a community forum, the website hosts a veritable treasure trove of resources for anyone building embedded systems. And the fact that these resources are curated by an engineer with the street cred and skills of Philip makes the content all the more exceptional.
For example, take the area for beginners, which is described as having “useful reference material to get you started with programming and embedded systems development.” But take a look below at the list of links included under “Foundational Programming Topics,” and you’ll see there is a little bit for everyone here, whatever your experience level. And the fact that the content is organized all in one place makes it pretty irresistible to consume a lot of it, even if you didn’t realize you were even interested in a particular topic!
- Every Programmer Should Know
- A Successful git Branching Model – many projects use this git development model
- Debugging: The 9 Indispensable Rules – master a skill you’ll use every day
In the free area of the site there is plenty more to peruse—a glossary, recommendations on development kits, libraries that include templates, documents and source code, and a blog that is updated at least twice a week with in-depth, original and often thought-provoking content (and hundreds of articles in the archive) plus more.
There are also several curated collections on a variety of topics including embedded architecture, security, testing, and source code classic.
More content is available for members who buy a monthly subscription to the site (see options here), including access to courses developed by the Embedded Artistry team, product teardowns, and discounts with partner companies.
One of the most intriguing and newest offerings in the membership area is a course based on the full set of design, manufacturing, and test files for the PB560 ventilator, released by Medtronic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only do members get the opportunity to study the design details of a commercial medical product, but the course provides Embedded Artistry’s review and commentary on the design, documentation, and source code.
I cannot think of a better way for engineers to learn but in the context and analysis of a real-world design.
I could go on but I think I’ll stop now, because you really need to go check the site out for yourself.