1. Embedded systems have undergone a comprehensive upgrade in hardware configuration. The mobile phones we use today are all embedded systems, essentially at the level of microcomputers, which is incomparable to microcontrollers. However, this significant improvement in hardware configuration has also brought considerable challenges to repair technicians. A few days ago, my newly purchased inverter refrigerator broke down. The technician who came shook his head upon seeing the model, saying, "Another inverter!" After asking a bunch of questions about the fault, he first called customer service. I then said, "You brought a bunch of tools, didn't you?" The technician replied, "Modern refrigerators are full of circuit boards. All that 'smart' and 'energy-saving' stuff—if it breaks, you either have to re-flash the device or replace the board. Our tools are becoming increasingly useless." Technological advancements and the vigorous development of embedded systems will bring a different experience to people's lives. In fact, for microcontroller hardware upgrades, it's still largely the same as the previous driver development and register settings.
2. Embedded systems offer a much richer software experience than microcontrollers. A typical microcontroller program, MP3, was popular for a few years but was quickly replaced by mobile phones. This is incomparable to a simple microcontroller with a few buttons or a small display. The emergence of Android, in particular, has significantly boosted the development of embedded systems. Chip companies everywhere seem unable to do business without Android running on their devices. The popularity of Android has brought a significant change for developers. Previously, embedded applications were primarily not C/C++, but now Java has taken over, as running a Java Virtual Machine on embedded devices is no problem. This is a major reason why C/C++ jobs are not as sought after as Java jobs. Those with microcontroller experience need to deepen their understanding at this level. From a software perspective, it's not just about simple register configuration; it also involves multi-processing, multi-threading, memory and disk management within the operating system, all of which require enhanced skills.
Embedded systems are mainly divided into three directions: first, system development, which focuses on development environment setup, kernel principles, cross-compilation, etc.; second, embedded Linux application development, which focuses on Linux application programming, kernel compilation, and system calls; and third, low-level driver development, which focuses on driver development under embedded Linux systems and in-depth kernel analysis.
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