Lessons from Zephyr RTOS on modernizing embedded software workflows: treat firmware as a modern software system, use reusable build systems, emphasize security, portability, and continuous verification.
A modern software system breaks components into separate repos, like Zephyr's West tool for modular code organization.
Zephyr's CMake-based build system supports layered configurations and board-level overrides, promoting consistency and flexibility.
Security features in Zephyr include stack canaries, secure boot, and trusted execution environments, emphasizing built-in security from the start.
Portability in Zephyr is achieved through abstraction layers and a versatile configuration system, enabling application retargeting without rewriting everything.
Zephyr's continuous verification through extensive testing in CI highlights the importance of ongoing testing in the development process.
Lessons from Zephyr emphasize proving code safety, abstracting board dependencies, and frequent bug checking for modern firmware development.
Studying Zephyr's techniques can help in future-proofing firmware, adopting scalable team collaboration, reducing duplication, and improving maintainability.
Ignoring lessons from projects like Zephyr may hinder progress in the fast-evolving embedded industry, suggesting the importance of embracing modern firmware practices.