Question bank

2 marks

1. What is an embedded system?

An Embedded system is one that has computer hardware with software
embedded in it as one of its most important component.
The three main components of an embedded system are
1. Hardware
2. Main application software
3. RTOS

2. What are the components of embedded system?

An embedded system has three main components
i) Hardware
ii) Software
iii) Real Time Operating System(RTOS)

3. What are the classifications of embedded systems?

iv) Small scale embedded system
v) Medium scale embedded system
vi) Sophisticated embedded system
4. Give examples for general purpose processor.
 Microprocessor
 Microcontroller
 Embedded processor
 Digital Signal Processor
 Media Processor
5. Draw a diagram to depict the setup of a watch dog timer.

5.What are all the application areas of the embedded systems?

vii) Consumer Appliances
viii) Office Automation
ix) Industrial Automation
x) Medical Electronics
xi) Computer Networking
xii) Telecommunications
 xiii) Wireless Technologies
xiv) Instrumentation
xv) Security
xvi) Finance

6. What are the categories of embedded system?

Based on functionality and performance requirements, embedded systems can
be categorized as :
a. Stand-alone embedded system
b. Real-time systems
c. Networked Information Appliances
d. Mobile Devices

7. What is stand-alone embedded system?

Stand-alone systems work in stand-alone mode. They take inputs, process them
and produce the desired output. The input can be electrical signals from
transducers or commands. The output can be electrical signals to drive another
system.

8. What is real-time system?

Embedded systems in which some specific work has to be done in a specific time
period are called real-time systems. For example, consider a system that has to
open a valve within 30ms when the humidity crosses a particular threshold.

9. What are all the specialities of embedded systems?

a. Reliability
b. Performance
c. Power consumption
d. Cost
e. Size
f. Limited user interface
10. Define system on chip (SOC) with an example.
Embedded systems are being designed on a single silicon chip called system on chip.
SOC is a new design innovation for embedded system
Ex. Mobile phone

10. What are the CPU processors used in embedded system?

i) General purpose processor(GPP)
ii) Digital signal processor

11. What are the three types of architectures for the processor?
i)Von Neumann Architecture
 ii)Harvard Architecture
iii)Super Harvard Architecture

12. What is the Von Neumann Architecture?

This Architecture has one memory chip which stores both instruction and data.
The processor interacts with the memory through address and data buses to fetch
instructions and data.

13. What is Harvard Architecture?

It has separate memory blocks, one is program memory and the other is data
memory. Program memory stores only instructions and data memory stores only
data.

14. What is Super Harvard Architecture(SHARC)?

In which the data memory is accessed more frequently than the program
memory.Therefore in SHARC provision has been made to store some secondary
data in the program memory to balance the load on both memory blocks.

15. Flow char of build process in embedded system

16.Differentiate CISC and RISC processor?

CISC RISC
i)Complex instruction set computer i)Reduced instruction set computer

ii)It has large instruction set. ii)It has limited number of instruction set

iii)It needs less memory iii)It needs large memory

iv)In which software architecture is simple, iv) )In which hardware architecture is
hardware architecture is complex. simple, software architecture is complex

17.What are the types of memory?

i) Program Memory
It stores the firmware permanently.
ii) Data Memory
It contents are erased when power is switched off.
18 . What is need for watch dog timer?
A watchdog timer (WDT) is a hardware timer that automatically generates a system reset if
the main program neglects to periodically service it. It is often used to automatically reset an
embedded device that hangs because of a software or hardware fault.

19. What are the classifications of memory chip?

i) RAM
ii) ROM
iii) Hybrid Memory
a) EEPROM
b) Flash memory
c) Non volatile Memory

20. What is ROM?

A ROM that locates the following in its ROM-Embedded software, initial data
and strings and operating systems or RTOS.
21. What is RAM?
This is a Random Access Read and Write memory that the processor uses to store
program and data that are volatile and which disappear on power down or off.
22. What is timer?
A unit to provide the time for the system clock and Real-Time operations and
scheduling.
23. What is watch dog timer?
A timer with timeout from which resets the processor in case the program gets
stuck for an unexpected time.
(OR)
An important timing device in a system that resets the system after a pre-defined
timeout. This time may be definable within the first few clock cycles after reset.ss
24. What is clock?
 Fixed frequency pulses that an oscillator circuit generates and that controls all
operations during processing and all timing references of the system. Frequency
depends on the needs of the processor circuits. A processor, if it needs 100MHz
clock then its minimum instruction processing time is a reciprocal of it, which is
10ns.
25. List the various challenges in building a embedded systems.
Precise engineering and Design, low cost, high performance, careful selection of
chip, Efficiency.

26. What is compiler?

A program that, according to the processor specification, generates machine codes
from the high level language. The codes are called object codes.

27. What is Assembler?

A program that translates assembly language software into the machine codes
placed in a file called ‘.exe’(Executable) file.

28. What is linker?

A program that links the compiled codes with the other codes and provides the
input for a loader or locator.

29. What is loader?

It is a program that reallocates the physical memory addresses for loading into the
system RAM memory. Reallocation is necessary, as available memory may not start
from 0x0000 at a given instant of processing in a computer. The loader is a part of the
OS in a computer.

30. What is locator?

It is a program to reallocate the linked files of the program application and the
RTOS codes at the actual addresses of the ROM memory. It creates a file in a
standard format. File is called ROM image.

31. What is device driver?

ISR softwarem,which runs after the programming of the control register of a peripheral
device and to let the device get the inputs or outputs. It executes on an interrupt to or from the
device.
32. What is device Manager?
Software to mange multiple devices and drivers.
33. What is kernel?
A program with functions for memory allocation and deallocation,tasks scheduling, inter-
process communication ,effective management of shared memory access by using the
signals ,exception handling signals,semaphores,queues,mailboxes,pipes,i/o
management,interrupt controls,device drivers and device management.

34. What is RTOS?

 OS softwares for real-time programming and scheduling, process and memory
manager,device driver, device management and multitasking.

35. What is system?

A way of working, organizing or doing some task or series of task by following the fixed
plan, program and set of rules.

36. What is processor?

A processor implements a process or a processes as per the command(instructions)given to
it.

37.What are the classifications of I/O devices?

• Synchronous serial input and output
• Asynchronous serial UART input and output
• Parallel one bit input and output
• Parallel port input and output

38.Define Bus.
Buses: The exchange of information. Information is transferred between units of the
microcomputer by
collections of conductors called buses. There will be one conductor for each bit of
information to be passed,
e.g., 16 lines for a 16 bit address bus. There will be address, control, and data buses

39.Analyze the three ways of communication for a device.

Iso-synchronous communication
synchronous communication
Asynchronous communication

40. Point out characteristics of synchronous communication.

Bytes maintain a constant phase difference
The clock is not always implicit to the synchronous data receiver.

41. Expand a) SPI b) SCI

SPI - SERIAL PERIPHERAL INTERFACE
SCI - SERIAL COMMUNICATION INTERFACE

42..Define software timer.

This is software that executes and increases or decreases a count variable on an interrupt
from a timer output or form a real time clock interrupt. A software timer can also
generate interrupt on overflow of count value or on finishing value of the count variable.
43..Differentiatate microprocessor and micro controller(any 4 points)
Highlighted in green are explanation of the given point