Course Overview

Most C programmers are spoiled because they program in environments where not only is there a standard library implementation, but there are frequently a number of other libraries available for use. The cold fact is, that in embedded systems, there rarely are many of the libraries that programmers have grown used to, but occasionally an embedded system might not have a complete standard library, if there is a standard library at all. Few embedded systems have capability for dynamic linking, so if standard library functions are to be available at all, they often need to be directly linked into the executable. Oftentimes, because of space concerns, it is not possible to link in an entire library file, and programmers are often forced to “brew their own” standard c library implementations if they want to use them at all. While some libraries are bulky and not well suited for use on micro-controllers, many development systems still include the standard libraries which are the most common for C programmers.