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Periodicals Embedded Systems Programming Established in 1988, this monthly publication is devoted specifically to the issues embedded software developers face on the job. Every article and column (several of the columnists have books that made the above list) is packed with practical advice and written in a casual, readable style. I highly recommend that everyone reading this sentence immediately take a few minutes to sign up for a free subscription. It usually takes a few months to get started, but is well worth the wait. There are currently 60,000 subscribers. In addition, you might want to purchase a copy of their latest CD-ROM archive. This searchable database contains every article, column, and piece of source code published in the magazine since its inception. You can read most of each issue online at http://www.embedded.com/mag.htm and will find a partial archive of past articles there too. Disclaimer: When I first added this resource to my Embedded Systems Bibliography, I was not affiliated with this magazine in any way beyond having written an article or two for them on a freelance basis. However, since February 1999, I have been working for them, first as technical editor and more recently as editor-in-chief. I still think this is the only good magazine for embedded programmers (in fact, I hope it's become even better since I joined the staff), but I wanted you to know my bias. Circuit Cellar Billed as "The Magazine for Computer Applications", this is essentially the hobbyist/home-enthusiast take on embedded programming. It has a little more coverage of hardware than the above. A subscription (http://www.circuitcellar.com/subscribe.htm) costs $21.95 per year and includes 12 issues. This magazine can also be found on geekier newstands. Embedded Linux Journal Interest in embedding Linux has skyrocketed in the past two years. Though the idea of using desktop operating systems in embedded systems (DOS, Windows, UNIX, etc.) is not altogether new, many are attracted to the open source nature of Linux. This offshoot of the Linux Journal focuses specifically on that operating system's use in embedded devices. Subscriptions are free to qualified individuals (http://www.embeddedlinuxjournal.com/subscribe/). Sensors Thousands of product and systems design engineers use or manufacture sensors for commercial, consumer, and industrial applications. Sensors magazine, with a circulation of 75,000, is the only magazine in North America to focus on this dynamic arena, and is regarded as the resource for information on it. Subscriptions (http://www.sensorsmag.com/subscribe/) are free to those in the industry. Conferences Embedded Systems Conference A technical conference hosted several times a year by the publishers of Embedded Systems Programming. The big conference has been running for more than a decade (it began as a small affair in a San Francisco hotel suite in 1989), and the number of exhibitors and attendees continues to grow each year. I heard there were more than 15,000 people at the latest one I attended. The knowledge to be gained at these events far outweighs the cost of traveling to the conference and attending the classes. I try to go as often as I can and have recently begun speaking there as well. For more information, visit the conference website at http://www.esconline.com. They now do four of these per year, at locations in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Europe. Websites C/C++ Programmer's Guide to Embedded Systems (http://www.chalknet.com) A web-based training course for newcomers to embedded programming. This interactive training program is the perfect introduction to embedded systems. Chip Directory (http://www.hitex.com/chipdir/) An unbelievably large collection of information about common processors and peripherals. This is not the only such site on the Web, but it is one of the best maintained and it has links to many of the others. CPU Info Center (http://bwrc.eecs.berkeley.edu/CIC/) Tons of information about new and old processors alike. Includes a section specifically about common embedded processors. CRC Pitstop (http://www.ross.net/crc/) A site dedicated to information about CRC implementation, including Ross Williams' "Painless Guide to CRC Error Detection Algorithms." The latter is the most readable explanation of CRC calculations I've ever found. eg3 (http://www.eg3.com) Focused on the informational needs of embedded system programmers and real-time software developers, eg3 is a portal for the entire community. The publishers of this site have identified, indexed, and summarized thousands of relevant Internet resources and brought them all together in one place. Embedded.com (http://www.embedded.com) The web's very best jumping-off point for all things embedded. Brought to you by the same people as Embedded Systems Programming magazine and the Embedded Systems Conferences. Embedded Intel Architecture (http://www.intel.com/design/intarch/) Intel's home page for their embedded processor line. In addition to technical information, there are also free development and debugging tools and example source code listings. Embedded Systems Academy (http://www.esacademy.com/faq/) Embedded Systems Academy is a company dedicated to teaching classes on embedded software development. This, in itself, is not that interesting here. But their website does have a nice "Technical Library" with articles on a variety of embedded programming topics and source code examples. They even have their own bibliography of recommended books. EmbeddedSystems.org (http://www.embeddedsystem.org) This is a relatively new site (as of September 2001), so I'm going out on a limb a little bit with this one. It is well organized and appears to have a lot of promise as a portal for embedded designers. In addition, the links and their ratings are provided by visitors to the site, allowing the community to shape the site directly. I hope the portal will turn out to be everything it should. Linux Devices (http://www.linuxdevices.com) As they say themselves, this is "the embedded Linux portal." And it is indeed a very well maintained, frequently updated site with good information on this emerging area of interest. Microcontroller.com (http://www.microcontroller.com) Ugg. Why didn't I register that domain name four or five years ago!? At least the guy who's got it is making good use of it. The best page is the "Tutorials for Embedded Developers" page, which links off to great information on other, mostly vendor, websites. PanelSoft (http://www.panelsoft.com) This site is the place to go for information about graphical user interfaces in embedded systems. It's maintained by Niall Murphy, a consultant, instructor, and author of the book "Front Panel" (see above). His expertise on the subject shines through. Newsgroups comp.arch.embedded A newsgroup devoted to many of the topics discussed in my book. Discussions frequently involve software development tools and processes, comparisons of commercial real-time operating systems, and suggestions for processor-selection criteria. There's no official FAQ for this group, but the following page of "recurring topics" is well thought out and holds promise for the future: http://www.execpc.com/~geezer/embed/cae.htm. comp.dsp There's a lot of overlap between digital signal processing and embedded systems topics. For one thing, many embedded systems employ DSPs and their algorithms in one way or another. This is a good newsgroup to ask questions and discuss issues that crossover from one realm to the other. comp.os.* There are a number of newsgroups in this hierarchy for the users of specific commercial Real-Time Operating Systems. For example, comp.os.vxworks, comp.os.qnx, etc. There's also now a group, comp.os.linux.embedded, focusing on the use of Linux as an embedded operating system. comp.realtime Another good newsgroup for embedded systems discussion. This one tends to focus more heavily on real-time scheduling issues, however, so not all of the information is relevant. A list of FAQs from this group can be found at http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/comp/comp.realtime.html.