Final Exam Review Topics

Since the final is comprehensive, topics listed on the midterm reviews will be covered. The following list is intended as a general guide of additional topics to review (those covered since the second midterm). The exam may cover topics not explicitly listed here. Read the book carefully.

Book and lecture topics
- terminology: cross-compilers, cross-assemblers, linkers, loaders, locators
- address resolution: mapping variables and functions to addresses
- mechanisms to map code and data to ROM and RAM
- segments, what they are and why they are important
- assigning segments to memory address ranges
- special cases: initialized data, constant strings, executing out of RAM
- techniques of getting embedded software into the target system
- terminology: ROM emulators
- writing flash-resident code that can load new updates of itself
- organizing code to facilitate testing and debugging
- limitations and advantages of host-based testing
- terminology: test scaffold code, script file parsers
- limitations and advantages of instruction set simulators
- "assert" macros: usefulness, implementation
- useful tools: scopes, logic analyzers, in-circuit emulators, software-only monitors
- challenges in extracting the data you want: signal pins very close together, ASICs, on-chip caches
- pair programming
- extreme programming

Final Exam: Recommended Preparation Strategy

Reread the text. This is most important!
Review the lecture slides.
Review the midterms and study the posted solutions.
Review YAK specifications and lab code.
Review the additional papers that were assigned and discussed in class.
Make up your own practice questions from the list of review topics from the midterms and final.

Last updated 26 August 2019

James Archibald jka@ee.byu.edu