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How can you use code profiling to test microcontrollers?

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Code profiling is a technique that helps you analyze the performance and behavior of your code, especially when you are working with microcontrollers. Microcontrollers are small devices that control the functionality of embedded systems, such as sensors, motors, or displays. They have limited resources, such as memory, processing power, and battery life, so you need to optimize your code to make it run efficiently and reliably. In this article, you will learn how to use code profiling to test microcontrollers and improve your code quality.

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1 What is code profiling?

Code profiling is the process of measuring and recording various aspects of your code execution, such as the time, memory, and power consumption of each function, module, or line of code. You can use code profiling tools to collect and visualize this data to identify bottlenecks, errors, or inefficiencies in your code. Code profiling can help you answer questions like how long it takes for your code to run on the microcontroller, how much memory it uses, how much power it consumes, which parts are the most CPU-intensive, memory-intensive, or power-intensive, and how you can optimize your code to reduce execution time, memory usage, or power consumption.

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Dat Ho Tan

Senior Embedded Software Engineer | Toolchain developer
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I'm working in the embedded field. That is why the code profiling is essential for us. - Most of them we use the simulation model to test the number of cycles each function runs. - Create a unit test to measure the build time. Using multiple optimized levels to balance the final image's size and speed. - Unit tests are not only written to test on the simulation environment, some of them can be tested on the real hardware to measure the execution time for each version of code. - Based on your choice we have some external tools like IAR, Eclipse plugin,... to measure your code better.

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2 Why is code profiling important for microcontrollers?

Code profiling is essential for microcontrollers due to their strict constraints on resources and performance. Unlike general-purpose computers, microcontrollers must run specific tasks in real-time with minimal latency and error while operating within a limited budget of memory, processing power, and battery life. Code profiling can help you ensure that your code is optimized for the microcontroller's capabilities and requirements. It can detect and fix bugs or errors that may cause unexpected behavior or crashes on the microcontroller, improve the speed and responsiveness by eliminating unnecessary or redundant operations, reduce the memory footprint by freeing unused or allocated memory, and save battery life by lowering power consumption or using sleep modes, interrupts, or timers.

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Dat Ho Tan

Senior Embedded Software Engineer | Toolchain developer
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In my point of view code profiling is very important. The reason why: - Time Profiling: Sometimes we need to have a very fast program that can handle some tasks. In this case, we need to optimize the code speed instead of the readability of the code. - Memory Profiling: In some hardware, we don't have much size to store the code, which is why we need to write the ASM (Forth) instead of C lang. - And in some more cases, we need to balance the speed and size to produce the correct expectation of requirement.

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3 How to use code profiling tools for microcontrollers?

In order to use code profiling tools for microcontrollers, you need a compatible hardware and software setup. This includes a microcontroller board with debugging and profiling features, such as a JTAG or SWD interface, a debug probe, or a logic analyzer. Additionally, you need a software tool that can communicate with the microcontroller and collect and display the profiling data. Examples of code profiling tools for microcontrollers include Keil MDK, IAR Embedded Workbench, GCC and Gprof, and Microchip MPLAB X. These tools offer various functions such as event recorder, performance analyzer, system analyzer, power analyzer, code coverage, execution time, call graph, power debugging, data and instruction trace, power monitor and more.

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Dat Ho Tan

Senior Embedded Software Engineer | Toolchain developer
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- Currently, we have a lot of code profiling tools like Coverity, and Clockwork, ... It help us scan the vulnerability of code. - The debug tools help us to check the code flow and we can find out the error inside. More than that we can try to test inside the code flow by modifying something like the variable value and register value to make sure the code is good. - Some tools like Valgrind to check the memory leak during runtime. - Lot of tools to use, based on what we need to ensure it working (pulse graph, voltage, execution time,...).

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4 How to interpret and use the code profiling data?

Once you have collected code profiling data from your microcontroller, you need to interpret and use it to improve code quality. Visualizing and analyzing the data with code profiling tools, such as through graphs, charts, tables, or reports, can help you compare the data to expectations, requirements, or benchmarks. You can then use the code profiling data to locate and fix errors or bugs in your code with the trace, breakpoint, or watch features of the debugger. Additionally, you can optimize performance of your code by reducing execution time, memory usage, or power consumption with the profiler features. Refactoring or rewriting your code can make it more efficient, readable, or maintainable when using the code analysis features. Finally, testing and verifying your code to ensure that it meets microcontroller and embedded system specifications is possible with testing features like unit testing, integration testing, or regression testing.

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5 What are some best practices for code profiling for microcontrollers?

Code profiling for microcontrollers is a useful and powerful technique that can help you improve your code quality and your embedded system performance, yet it requires specific skills and knowledge to use it effectively and correctly. To make the most out of code profiling for microcontrollers, you should choose the right tool for your microcontroller and project, based on features, compatibility, cost, and ease of use. Additionally, you should define your goals and criteria for code profiling, such as what aspects of your code you want to measure, analyze, and optimize. Furthermore, it's important to profile your code regularly and selectively, focusing on the critical or problematic parts of your code and using representative or realistic data sets or inputs. Last but not least, profile your code realistically and accurately by using the same or similar hardware and software environment as the final deployment, accounting for the overhead or impact of the profiling tool on the microcontroller, and validating or verifying your data and assumptions.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you use code profiling to test microcontrollers?

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1 What is code profiling?

2 Why is code profiling important for microcontrollers?

3 How to use code profiling tools for microcontrollers?

4 How to interpret and use the code profiling data?

5 What are some best practices for code profiling for microcontrollers?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Computer Engineering

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How can you use code profiling to test microcontrollers?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 What is code profiling?

2 Why is code profiling important for microcontrollers?

3 How to use code profiling tools for microcontrollers?

4 How to interpret and use the code profiling data?

5 What are some best practices for code profiling for microcontrollers?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Computer Engineering

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