Embedded Systems Weekly #118

Embedded Systems Weekly #118

So? Did you recognize what is in the header without reading the description? I had to think twice to find the answer. Probably, it's because I'm more on the software side than on the hardware side.

Happy reading!

Articles

How Transistors Work
This video details how work BJT transistors (Bipolar Junction Transistors). It is a very good one, but if you are more interested in how work FET transistors (Field-Effect Transistors) you should look at New FinFet Semiconductor Structure and Function

Has UML Died Without Anyone Noticing?
It can sound like a rant of the author, but I find some real questions in this article. I already had a similar discussion when Boeing got troubles because of big engineering errors. How bad is the use of informal diagrams to software quality and safety? The author writes "at the organisational level, software isn’t being engineered any longer". Do you feel the same then the author? Do you think software engineering is still currently missing the point?

Bringing Rust to Space - Setting up a Rust ecosystem for the VA108XX MCU family
When a person working in satellites is learning Rust, everybody wins a new supported target.

News / Business

An F-16 pilot died when his ejection seat failed. Was it counterfeit?
This is a horror story for any component buyer. Six transistors are being suspected of being counterfeit, and it is evaluated as the potential reason for the failure.

Tools / Libraries

SiliFuzz - Fuzzing CPUs by proxy
A few days ago, Google open-sourced this new tool. The approach described in the paper was completely new for me, and I have to admit surprising. In the end it looks like effective as they have already identified a few bugs.

Jobs

Stem, Embedded Software Engineer, Full-time, United States (Full remote)
Stem provides solutions that address the challenges of today’s dynamic energy market.

Misc

Byte Magazine Volume 08 Number 08 - The C Language
I can't explain why, going through the pages of this magazine from 1983 makes me happy. I'm sure some of you will feel the same...

Castle Drawing
This FPGA demo shows how one can draw a castle using only shape rasterization and finite state machines. Why not?