Author: Graham Kruk

A watchdog timer (sometimes called a watchdog or just watchdog) is an electronic timer that is used to detect and recover from computer malfunctions in programmable logic controllers (PLCs). The watchdog timer resets itself periodically and triggers a system reset if it is not reset before the time interval lapses. This helps improve the reliability

Watchdog software refers to programs that monitor the status of key system components and take action when issues are detected. The term ‘watchdog’ comes from the idea that these programs keep a watchful eye to identify problems. Watchdog software serves an important role in maintaining system stability, preventing data loss, and reducing downtime. Monitoring System

The watchdog is a critical component in the ARM Cortex series of processors that is responsible for detecting faults and recovering the system. It acts as a monitor that can reset the processor if needed to maintain reliable operation. Overview of the ARM Cortex Series The ARM Cortex series is a range of 32-bit and

When trying to compile code for ARM Cortex devices using the arm-none-eabi-gcc toolchain, you may encounter confusing error messages stating that certain functionality “is not implemented and will always fail”. This typically occurs when the code uses features not supported by the version of GCC being used, or relies on libraries/headers not provided with the

There are several potential reasons why Cortex-M4 assembly code may execute slower than expected. The most common causes include inefficient code, pipeline stalls, memory access delays, and incorrect cycle timing assumptions. Inefficient Code One of the most frequent reasons assembly runs slower is simply inefficient code. Some common examples include: Reviewing algorithm efficiency and minimizing

The TrustZone is a security extension in the Arm Cortex series of processors that provides hardware-level isolation between secure and non-secure environments on the same system-on-a-chip (SoC). It creates a secure world for trusted code and data isolated from the non-secure world used by the main operating system and applications. Overview of the TrustZone The

Interrupts are a key part of embedded systems programming on ARM Cortex M4 microcontrollers. They allow the processor to respond quickly to events and requests from peripherals. When an interrupt occurs, the processor stops what it is currently doing, saves its state, and jumps to an Interrupt Service Routine (ISR) to handle the interrupt. Once

The ARM Cortex-R5 is a processor core designed by ARM Holdings for use in real-time embedded systems. It is part of the Cortex-R series of ARM processor cores, which are optimized for real-time performance and safety-critical applications. Overview The Cortex-R5 core is a 32-bit RISC processor optimized for high-performance real-time applications. It combines a dual-issue

The ARM Cortex-M4 is a 32-bit processor core used in various microcontroller units (MCUs) and system-on-chips (SoCs). It has a sophisticated memory architecture that provides flexible options for mapping code, data, and peripherals. Understanding the Cortex-M4 memory map is key to effectively utilizing the chip’s resources. At its core, the Cortex-M4 memory consists of three

The Cortex-M4 processor from ARM includes a range of digital signal processing (DSP) instructions to enable more efficient processing of DSP algorithms. These instructions allow Cortex-M4 based microcontrollers to achieve higher performance on math-intensive DSP tasks compared to standard ARM Thumb instruction set. The DSP instructions are especially useful for applications such as audio processing,