November 2012
Intermediate to advanced
496 pages
12h 2m
English
Chapter 8
Microcontroller Program Development
Before writing a program, it is always helpful first to drive the program's algorithm. Although simple programs can easily be developed by writing the code prior to any preparation, the development of complex programs almost always become easier if the algorithm is first derived. Once the algorithm is ready, writing of the actual program code is not a difficult task.
A program's algorithm can be described in a variety of graphic and text-based methods, such as a flowchart, structure chart, data flow diagram, program description language (PDL), and so on. The problem with graphical techniques is that it can be very time consuming to draw shapes with text inside them. Also, it is a tedious task to modify an algorithm described using graphical techniques.
Flowcharts can be very useful to describe the flow of control and data in small programs where there are only a handful of diagrams, usually not extending beyond a page or two. The PDL can be useful to describe the flow of control and data in small to medium size programs. The main advantage of the PDL description is that it is very easy to modify a given PDL, since it only consists of text.
In this chapter, we will mainly be using the PDL, but flowcharts will also be given where it is felt to be useful. The next sections briefly describe the basic building blocks of the PDL and flowcharts. It is left to the reader to decide which method to use during the development of their programs. ...
