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What Skill set should a low level programmer possess?

Asked 2009-07-07T12:04:34.950
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I am an embedded SW Engineer, with less than 3 yrs of experience. I aim to "sharpen the saw" continuously. I was wondering if there was anything specific to low level programming that C/C++ coders should be proficient with.

What comes to my mind is familiarity with the hardware's architecture and instruction set. Knowing how to fiddle with bits is also important, resource management and performance have been part of my job, is there anything else?

EDIT: I work with an in-house customized RTOS, not embedded Linux.

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I'd study the electronics of the actual chips. Learn how they work internally (such as architecture), interface with peripherals, electrical and timing characteristics, etc.

Basically, read the data sheet start to finish a few times and dig into anything you've not seen/used before.

By the way, what chips do you work with?

answered 2009-07-07T12:06:51.840

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