This book belongs on the bookshelf of every programmer engaged in time-triggered embedded systems. No that's wrong, it belongs on their desk - it should have post-it notes hanging out the sides, the binding should be broken and numerous stains of coffee should mar the pages. It is the most pragmatic guide to building embedded systems programs I've seen in my 25+ years of experience with such systems.
This book lives up to the dreams and goals of the patterns community; namely the capturing of wisdom in a way that can be shared with others. Pont's collection of patterns oozes wisdom on each page, from concept to implementation. The topical organization of patterns ranges from early project development issues such as selection of the right microcontroller to detail design questions of interfacing to switches, keypads, LED's and LCD panels. Along the way Pont tackles some of the most baffling topics in embedded systems - co-operative, pre-emptive and shared-clock schedulers; and the interfacing of multi-processor systems.
If you are a programmer new to embedded systems development, then careful, methodical study, will rapidly help you through multiple learning curves - time-based architectures; digital, analog and electromechanical sub-systems often connected to microcontrollers; interfacing to the variety of communications protocols you might encounter; data acquisition; control strategies; feedback systems; and so much more.
If you have experience building embedded systems then this is a book that deserves to be treated as a reference book or a handbook - that is, it should be browsed from cover to cover to discover the comprehensive nature of topics; then as new work is assigned to you, or new problems arise, it should be the first book you consult for ideas, pointers and solutions.
This book has a depth that suggests many years of research. It brings together and cross-correlates so many diverse topics, I suspect it was difficult to write. I appreciate the hard work and dedication it must have taken to finish this project. I thank Michael Pont, as with this book, he has made my job easier.
