13. embedded systems
Embedded systems often reside in machines that are expected to run continuously for years without errors, and in some cases recover by themselves if an error occurs. Therefore the software is usually developed and tested more carefully than that for personal computers, and unreliable mechanical moving parts such as disk drives, switches or buttons are avoided.
This C course is extensive and contains many advanced concepts. The range of modules covers a full introduction to C, real-time and embedded systems concepts through to the design and implementation of real time embedded or standalone systems based on real-time operating systems and their device drivers.
The general purpose digital input/output module is not a box covered with switches, lights and terminal blocks. It is not a piece of hardware at all, but a piece of software. It's called a module because its code is encapsulated in a file which will contain all of the functions and variables related to digital input and output.
t is very useful to isolate functionality in this manner when building a software project. Modulariazation makes it much easier to test and troubleshoot functions. It's a lot easier to find and fix a problem when all activities related to a particular process are to be found in one file dedicated to the process, rather than being scattered all over the place and mixed in with other processes.