Welcome to edition 131 of our weekly newsletter on embedded systems!

This week, we have hand-picked a selection of links to please the C lovers among you. Whether you're an experienced professional or just starting to learn about embedded systems, we hope you enjoy this edition of our newsletter!

Happy reading!

Articles

How to Identify a Microcontroller Model Using Firmware Analysis
It's the first time that I read an article along this angle. It's very interesting to discover the techniques used to identify the microcontroller from the firmware.

How the 8086 processor's microcode engine works
Besides the interesting writing on the 8086 itself, I like as well the part on the microcode history. Ken Shirriff is delivering yet another great article.

Understanding Concurrency Vulnerabilities in Linux Kernel
Based on bugs listed in the CVE database during the last ten years, the study covers 101 concurrency vulnerabilities. Among the things covered, the study classify the fixes in four different classes named condition check, code switch, lock strategy and design change.

A Christmas tree bauble that plays Doom
It is, at the same time, charming and impressive technically. The author shares the schematics. He shares how he modified an existing Doom port to make it possible to pair a BLE keyboard with the bauble. Yes, you got it. You can play on the bauble. With the case design files, everything is available in the Doom on an ESP32-C3 based Christmas tree bauble repository.

Jobs

Octopus Energy, Embedded Software Engineer, Slough, UK (Partially remote)
Our ambition is to help put the world on the path to Net Zero. Through our R&D team, we’re working on exciting projects that will directly impact the future of renewable energy. Our R&D team is now rapidly expanding and we’re looking for determined people to join us on our mission.

Misc

Quines (self-replicating programs)
It is an oldie, but it remains fun to check out. Enjoy!