Technical Articles & Documents

These articles offer tips, tricks and information about programming embedded microcontrollers, with a focus on the Controller Area Network.

CAN and CANopen

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Real-Time CAN

Balancing Speed and Priority Crafting Embedded Networks for Diverse Real-Time Communication Demands
 
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Customizing CANopen for Use in an Automated Laboratory Instrument

CANopen application example that shows how CANopen can be modified to best match the requirements of a specific application.
 
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Smarten-Up Your Sensors with DeviceNet and CANopen

More and more sensors are required to have networking capabilities. CANopen and DeviceNet are a good choice for simple sensors such as encoders or valves.
 
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CANopen Compliant Bootloader and Debugger Cores for Flash Microcontrollers

A guideline on how to utilize CANopen compliant communication channels to implement boot loader and debugger cores into microcontrollers with on-chip flash memory.
 
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Betting on CAN and CANopen, 2023 Update

Since first publication of this article, the Controller Area Network (CAN), often referred to as CANbus, has solidified its position as a vital network in the embedded systems sector. Learn what has changed.
 
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Betting on CAN and CANopen 2003

Article From 2003: An article giving answers to questions like: In which market segments are CAN, the Controller Area Network and CANopen used today? How many CAN bus nodes are out there? In which market segments will CAN and CANopen be used?
 
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Embedded Networking With CANopen

Introduction to CANopen including Device Profiles, Object Dictionary, Electronic Data Sheets, Process Data Objects, Network Management and implementation. CANopen is a higher-layer CAN protocol running on the CANbus. First published in Circuit Cellar.
 
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Selecting a CAN Controller, 2023 Update

It is time to give this an update as with the evolution of technology and the proliferation of microcontrollers, there's an ever-expanding range of options when it comes to selecting a CAN controller.
 
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Selecting a CAN Controller 2003

Article from 2003: There are some 22 or so chip manufacturers producing microcontrollers with on-chip CAN bus interfaces. Many differ substantially from each other - what are the selection criteria we can go by?
 

Embedded Internetworking

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Internet Connectivity: The Time is Right and the Technology is Ready For You

Looks at various aspects of implementing Internet functionality in microcontrollers, including a case study on a CAN to TCP/IP gateway. First published in EE Times.
 

8051 Programming

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Using Pointers, Arrays, Structures and Unions in 8051 C Compilers

Still unsure how pointers, arrays, structures and unions are used? Or how they can be set/located to specific addresses? This article is for you!
 
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Using Flash Memory in Embedded Applications

Store and read variable and configuration data from within an application
 
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8051 Coding and Debugging

Giving you yet another reason to use C and NOT Assembly
 
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8051 Memory Configurations with C Compilers

Selecting the right memory model using the Keil and Raisonance C compilers
 

Miscellaneous

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Software Based Memory Testing

Shows how to test for the most common memory problems with a set of three efficient, portable, public-domain memory test functions
 
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Software Style Guide

Describes a set of guidelines for formatting source code
 
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Microcontroller Primer

Overview and technical information on Microcontrollers
 
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Infineon C16x Microcontroller FAQ

Frequently asked questions for Infineon C16x family
 
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8051 Microcontroller FAQ

Frequently asked questions for the 8051 microcontroller core
 
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I2C Bus Technical Overview and FAQ

An introduction to technical aspects of I2C from NXP
 
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CAN Resources

Resources for Controller Area Network
 
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CANopen Resources

Resources for the CAN higher layer protocol CANopen