I have to give the usual disclaimer that that these are my own personal views and not those of the ESE Editor and publisher. They are also those of my employer. I am currently working for myself! I have had an eventful four months and need to put it all into perspective before I comment on it here. The extended version of the column on www.phaedsys.com

As with all columns, this printed one only contains the overview, the full-expanded text, references, live URL’s to source material, useful web sites etc (e.g. to the free downloadable annotated ISO C standard) and to other information on the topics covered. So do have a look at the longer version on www.phaedsys.org. Especially on months when the short version does not make it into the magazine. The column is still on the web. Do have a look at last months it is the reflective one for the summer.

One important item from last month: By demand from within the industry, it appears that, there is a need for a MISRA-C++. I know what I, and others said about doing a MISRA-C++ but people want it so it is going to happen. Therefore MISRA is starting work on the production of a set of “guidelines for the use of C++ in critical systems”, the output of which, we hope, will be a document similar to MISRA- C. I say “we” but I have managed to side step this one.

Chris Tapp of Keylevel Consultants (a member of the MISRA-C panel), has taken up the challenge to act as chairman for the new MISRA-C++ panel. I shall find out what hold MISRA has over Chris to entice him into this role!

There is a requirement for some additional people to participate in the development of MISRA C++. The work, like other MISRA work, will be done on a voluntary basis; you get fame and the undying gratitude of the industry at the end of it. That and a constant barrage of questions from software engineers as to why you banned their favorite construct! You will probably also some vilification from the ISO C and C++ panels. Some of them seem very anti MISRA-C. Though as MISRA-C has proved a lot more popular than C99, which has required several large TC’s, I do wonder at their motives.

People are needed for MISRA C++ who can contribute to a two day, focused working meeting once a month and who are also willing to put in effort 'off-line'. There is a lot of work to do but there is a lot of experience from the MISRA-C group that will speed things up. Only two members of the C panel are also on the C++ panel. C and C++ are different languages but the method of working, the template of MISRA C and the fact that they have some source documents should help speed things up.

If you are interested in taking part, please send your details to chariman@misra-cpp.com. A brief note on your background would be appreciated as Chris Tapp may have more volunteers than places and there may have to be some selection. From experience on MISRA-C and other panels you don't want a very large panel. If it gets too big it is inefficient and less gets done see Mythical Man Month(Brooks 1995).

Tool vendors take note! This is not the point where you volunteer a marketing or technical sales person because it is good for the company image. This is a technical working group not a marketing opportunity. We did get some of this in the MISRA-C review. Some companies sent in a couple of comments at the last minute, one of which actually said “Will we get a mention now?” No. All volunteers will need to have a strong technical background in the practical use of C++ preferably in high integrity areas such as automotive, medical, aerospace, etc. MISRA is more than automotive these days. This is a guide like MISRA C aimed at stopping some of the silly or dangerous practices that happen in reality so the team need to have an appreciation of this.

There will also be a larger number of reviewers. There were several hundred world-wide for MISRA-C. So if you are reading this on the web from somewhere outside the UK register with chairman@misra-cpp.com as a reviewer. Please send in a brief description of your experience for the work.

Also Chris Tapp will be lurking at Embedded Systems Show so drop by the Phaedrus Systems stand (440 at the back of the hall) register an interest. Yes, Phaedrus Systems will have stand at the Embedded Systems Show so drop by for a chat on any of the topics covered in these columns, or any you want to raise. I hope to have a coffee machine running. I will also have a range of embedded tools including some ARM9 kits, debuggers and compilers and industrial wireless networking etc. I shall hopefully be running some competitions for some dev kits.

The ESS show is larger than last year by quite a bit. Actually it has been so popular they have had to add another row of stands. So it is well worth a visit as most people will be there. In fact given the large number of café’s etc outside the show (and meeting rooms) it is an idea place to arrange meetings and catch up on the industry at the same time. As I have been saying a change is as good as a rest so let the engineers out to get some new ideas and see what is going on in the embedded world. And don’t think they will be poached or job hunt…. The place is too public. It is easier to do that on the internet!

As for ideas there is a dammed good line up on the ESS conference that is well worth seeing. From “Does UML Improve Software Quality?” to CAN & wireless networks. FPGA’s and system modelling also figure. The IEE has had a hand in organising it this year and they have pulled in speakers from around the world.

Incidentally if you are stopping in Birmingham for ESS you should try a Balti. I can recommend the best Balti House in the city the Royal Al-Faisal 136-140 Stoney Lane, Sparkbrook, Birmingham B12 8AQ. 0121 449 5695 http://www.alfaisal.co.uk (They have their own car park). It is one of the first three balti restaurants that started it all and I believe the longest running in the world.

Whilst mentioning shows and conferences I shall be speaking on “MISRA-C what it can do for you and what it is not” at the IEE Safety Assurance conference 10/11 November at Savoy Place London. Phaedrus Systems will also have a stand there. See IEE web site. http://www.theiet.org.uk
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Phaedrus Systems will also have a stand at the 2nd Annual IEE Automotive Conference on account of the fact I am organising the embedded systems and software track. I am looking for speakers if any one is interested, email me chills@phaedsys.com Yes, there will be an exhibition as well so if you want a stand there let me know. Last year’s conference was deemed a great success by all the delegates I spoke to.

Most conference papers and magazines tend to start life in electronic form these days and the IEE have a large range of Electronic books and journals in the IEE Library that IEE members can access online, including over 700 engineering and 200 IT full-text e-books and a database of over 8,000 business, engineering and IT e-journals, provided by the IEE Library.

One of the new books available in hard copy from the IEE is “Intellectual Property Rights for Engineers, 2nd Edition” which may be of use to many contractors who design systems and write software for other people. On the other hand anyone who employs a contractor might want to read it as well. There have been some interesting discussions on who actually owns the copyright on source code in various newsgroups especially linked in to all the fuss over software patents. I have a horrible feeling that Software Patents will not go away. There is too much money involved.

On the subject of safeguarding IP, because most of this industry is either ones and noughts or held in digital files. Who prints hard copy of all documents these days? The Hurricane Katrina, that could never happen here (see Birmingham last month), has raised some interesting problems. Data back up. There are some standards involved here so I can write about it.

There are some things to consider. Everywhere has fire alarms but most computer failures are caused by water from the fire-fighters or the sprinklers not just the river flooding. One office I worked in came within about 5mm of disaster when the office next door flooded and the water seeped through. Back ups are fine but are they in a data safe or off site?

Now most safes I have seen people store floppy disks in are standard run of the mill safes. Not fire safes. When you dig them out of the rubble afterwards the contents are likely to be unusable. Now this brings me on to Standards. There are Standards for fire safes. Several, in fact. The average old-fashioned safe will cook your contents and is not usually air or watertight. So even if the back ups haven’t been cooked they will probably have been soaked. Fire safes on the other hand are designed to keep things cool for up to two hours and are watertight…. Well water resistant…. So don’t take them diving.

However there are two types of data safe…. One is a lot more expensive than the other. The difference is the Data-Fire-Safes keep the contents a LOT cooler. The normal fire safes keep things to a temperature where paper dries out nicely, but not spontaneously combust but CD’s, DVD’s, tapes and floppies will all behave like your favourite chocolate bar in your lunch box when you were at school in the summer term.

The [expensive] data fire safes keep things much cooler. Less than 52 degrees C for at least two hours when the outside is a balmy 1000 degrees c. They are also reasonably water resistant. So when the next hurricane hits and takes out the office with fire and flood, and the house of the employee who had the off site backup will you be safe? In the US the damage was over some 300 miles by 75. In Birmingham UK where this sort of thing never happens the damage was only three miles by 75 yards, narrowly missing the best Balti Restaurant in Birmingham http://www.alfasial.co.uk but causing £30,000 of damage to the owners house just down the road.

Many who work from home have the office and the home in the same place. So a decent data fire safe is a good investment especially as most are built in to the shell of a normal safe and are good as any security safe. Even if there are off site backups your back ups need to be safe from fire and flood. Incidentally data safes will also keep out plagues of locusts. So check that the safe you are using is good for storing data media. As I said many companies just use the normal safe that is specified for paper not data media. Go and check the company safe is the right sort now, rather than after the fire!

The other important thing to do is check out the integrity of your backups. Many companies religiously do backups week after week and it is not until an emergency that they discover that the backups either don’t contain the data they thought or in many cases especially with tape-based systems they are just unreadable if they are used in another drive.

Well by the time you read this you should be booking the day to go to the embedded show. I will be please to see you (well anyone really) on my stand 440 at the back of the hall but the more of you who go to the show the better even if you only wave as you pass my stand.