Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems

From	David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no>
Newsgroups	comp.arch.embedded
Subject	Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems
Date	2017-08-02 09:30 +0200
Organization	A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID	<olruqd$cp5$1@dont-email.me> (permalink)
References	(1 earlier) <nnd$732deeba$02de5e74@5f062c9821b698cb> <udednc8POM5SnuPEnZ2dnUU7-QXNnZ2d@supernews.com> <5epfB.511822$h63.486483@fx34.am4> <9b6dnTi-EIaj5x3EnZ2dnUU7-c3NnZ2d@supernews.com> <olrahm$j60$1@dont-email.me>

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On 02/08/17 03:46, Les Cargill wrote:
> Phil Hobbs wrote:
>> On 07/30/2017 02:05 PM, Tom Gardner wrote:
>>> On 30/07/17 17:05, Phil Hobbs wrote:
>>>> Another thing is to concentrate the course work on stuff that's
>>>> hard to pick up on your own, i.e. math and the more mathematical
>>>> parts of engineering (especially signals & systems and
>>>> electrodynamics).
>>>
>>> Agreed.
>>>
>>>> Programming you can learn out of books without much difficulty,
>>>
>>> The evidence is that /isn't/ the case :( Read comp.risks, (which
>>> has an impressively high signal-to-noise ratio), or watch the news
>>> (which doesn't).
>>
>> Dunno.  Nobody taught me how to program, and I've been doing it since
>> I was a teenager.  I picked up good habits from reading books and
>> other people's code.
>>
> 

You can certainly learn things that way - if the books and the code are
good enough.  You also need an expert or two that you can talk to (or at
least, a good newsgroup!), and be able to research the details.
Otherwise you learn from one example that a loop of 10 in C is written
"for (i = 0; i < 10; i++)", and then a loop of 100 is "for (i = 0; i <
100; i++)".  Then you see a web page with "for (i = 0; i < 100000; i++)"
but when you try that on your AVR, suddenly it does not work.

Most of the details of particular languages can be picked up from books
(or websites), but I think that some training is needed to be a good
programmer - you need to understand how to /think/ programming.
Mathematics and electronics engineering help too.

> From reading fora and such, I don't think people like to learn how to
> program that much any more.

Well, it is not uncommon in forums and newsgroups to get the people who
have ended up with a project that is well beyond their abilities, and/or
time frame, and they want to get things done without "wasting" time
learning.  And of course there are the people who believe they know it
all already, and have great difficulty learning.

> 
>> Security is another issue.  I don't do IoT things myself (and try not
>> to buy them either), but since that's the OP's interest, I agree that
>> one should add security/cryptography to the list of subjects to learn
>> about at school.
>>
> 
> WRT to programming, generally "safety" or "security" means "don't
> expose UB in C programs". This becomes political, fast.
> 

What do you mean by that?  Undefined behaviour is just bugs in the code.
 The concept of undefined behaviour in C is a good thing, and helps you
get more efficient code - but if your code relies on the results of
undefined behaviour it is wrong.  In some cases, it might happen to work
- but it is still wrong.

To be safe and secure, a program should not have bugs (at least not ones
that affect safety or security!).  That applies to all bugs - be it UB,
overflows, misunderstandings about the specifications, mistakes in the
specifications, incorrect algorithms, incorrect functions - whatever.
UB is not special in that way.

And what do you mean by "this becomes political" ?

> I dunno that crypto knowlege is of any use or not, beyond the "might
> need it" level.
> 

A little crypto knowledge is good, as is lots - but a medium amount of
crypto knowledge can be a dangerous thing.  Most programmers know that
they don't understand it, and will use third-party software or hardware
devices for cryptography.  They need to know a little about it, to know
when and how to use it - but they don't need to know how it works.

At the other end, the industry clearly needs a certain number of people
who /do/ know how it all works, to implement it.

The big danger is the muppets in the middle who think "that 3DES routine
is so /slow/.  I can write a better encryption function that is more
efficient".

>>>
>>>> and with a good math background you can teach yourself anything
>>>> you need to know about.
>>>
>>> Agreed.
>>>
>>>> Just learning MCUs and FPGAs is a recipe for becoming obsolete.
>>>
>>> There's always a decision to be made as to whether to be a
>>> generalist or a specialist. Both options are valid, and they have
>>> complementary advantages and disadvantages.
>>
>> Being a specialist is one thing, but getting wedded to one set of
>> tools and techniques is a problem.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Phil Hobbs
>>
>>

Thread

Engineering degree for embedded systems "hogwarts" <122707@EmbeddedRelated> - 2017-07-27 07:35 -0500
  Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Stef <stef33d@yahooI-N-V-A-L-I-D.com.invalid> - 2017-07-27 15:25 +0200
    Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-07-30 12:05 -0400
      Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-07-30 19:05 +0100
        Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-01 08:55 -0400
          Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-01 14:23 +0100
            Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-03 11:03 -0400
              Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-06 10:35 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems John Devereux <john@devereux.me.uk> - 2017-08-06 14:40 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-08-06 12:51 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-06 20:13 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-08-06 19:21 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 12:40 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-08-07 15:18 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 15:27 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-08-07 16:47 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 17:30 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-08-07 18:35 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 18:56 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-08-07 19:02 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 19:08 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Hans-Bernhard Bröker <HBBroeker@t-online.de> - 2017-08-08 01:30 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 19:32 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-08-07 19:53 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 20:02 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems stephen@mpeforth.com (Stephen Pelc) - 2017-08-07 23:49 +0000
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 20:07 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-08 08:00 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems George Neuner <gneuner2@comcast.net> - 2017-08-07 01:21 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems upsidedown@downunder.com - 2017-08-06 17:15 +0300
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-06 20:21 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems upsidedown@downunder.com - 2017-08-07 10:35 +0300
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-07 12:54 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-07 12:34 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 12:43 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-08-06 12:50 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-08-07 12:36 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-07 18:40 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-08 10:23 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-08 09:46 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-08 11:26 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-08 11:09 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-08 12:56 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-08 15:56 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-08 17:11 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-08 16:33 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems upsidedown@downunder.com - 2017-08-08 21:07 +0300
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-09 10:03 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems upsidedown@downunder.com - 2017-08-10 14:30 +0300
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-10 15:11 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Walter Banks <walter@bytecraft.com> - 2017-08-16 18:39 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-17 09:37 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Walter Banks <walter@bytecraft.com> - 2017-08-17 08:24 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-17 16:06 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Walter Banks <walter@bytecraft.com> - 2017-08-17 12:15 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-18 14:45 +0200
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Walter Banks <walter@bytecraft.com> - 2017-08-25 09:51 -0400
          Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2017-08-01 20:46 -0500
            Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-02 09:30 +0200
              Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2017-08-05 15:11 -0500
              Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2017-08-08 00:22 -0700
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2017-08-08 08:36 +0100
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2017-08-08 12:37 +0200
  Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems "tim..." <tims_new_home@yahoo.com> - 2017-07-27 17:46 +0100
    Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2017-07-27 16:54 +0000
      Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems "tim..." <tims_new_home@yahoo.com> - 2017-07-27 19:57 +0100
  Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Frank Miles <fpm@u.washington.edu> - 2017-07-27 16:58 +0000
    Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Theo Markettos <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2017-07-28 00:43 +0100
    Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems jim.brakefield@ieee.org - 2017-07-30 15:26 -0700
  Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Chris <xxx.syseng.yyy@gfsys.co.uk> - 2017-07-27 23:45 +0000
  Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Hans-Bernhard Bröker <HBBroeker@t-online.de> - 2017-08-03 19:50 +0200
    Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2017-08-05 15:20 -0500
      Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems upsidedown@downunder.com - 2017-08-06 09:17 +0300
        Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems "tim..." <tims_new_home@yahoo.com> - 2017-08-06 10:12 +0100
          Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems upsidedown@downunder.com - 2017-08-06 13:19 +0300
          Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2017-08-06 09:59 -0500
            Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems "tim..." <tims_new_home@yahoo.com> - 2017-08-06 18:06 +0100
              Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-08-06 21:31 -0400
                Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems "tim..." <tims_new_home@yahoo.com> - 2017-08-07 09:32 +0100
        Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2017-08-06 09:53 -0500
          Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems upsidedown@downunder.com - 2017-08-07 10:59 +0300
            Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2017-08-07 20:09 -0500
              Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems upsidedown@downunder.com - 2017-08-08 21:31 +0300
        Re: Engineering degree for embedded systems Stef <stef33d@yahooI-N-V-A-L-I-D.com.invalid> - 2017-08-21 11:28 +0200

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