Hardware Podcasts

Modern C++ for Embedded with Niall Cooling

The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast · 18 May 2023 · 58m

What this episode covers

Niall Cooling, director at Feabhas, explains how modern C++ (C++11 through C++23) enables safer, more agile embedded development by replacing C-style practices with compiler-enforced safety and modern tooling. He highlights 'quick wins' like `auto`, `constexpr`, and guaranteed copy elision, which improve code readability and performance without sacrificing the efficiency of C. Cooling argues that the true value of C++ lies in its ecosystem of header-only testing frameworks (like Doctest and Catch2), static analysis tools (Clang-tidy), and CI/CD integration, which allow teams to adopt Agile practices like Test-Driven Development (TDD) even in deeply embedded, safety-critical contexts. He contrasts this with the steep learning curve of Rust and emphasizes that successful adoption requires significant investment in training and process improvement rather than just language syntax changes.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Feabhas
Products
Mbed OS
Tools
Doctest, Catch2, Clang-tidy, CMake, Godbolt, CPP Insights
Also
Rust

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