Using C++ in an embedded environment

Question

Today I got into a very interesting conversation with a coworker, of which one subject got me thinking and googling this evening. Using C++ (as opposed to C) in an embedded

Answer 1

The fear of C++ among embedded developers is largely a thing of the past, when C++ compilers were not as good as C compilers (optimizations and code quality wise).

This applies especially to modern platforms with 32 bit architectures. But, C is certainly still the preferred choice for more confined environments (as is assembler for 8 bit or 4 bit targets).

So, it really boils down to the resources your target platform provides, and how much of these resources you are likely to actually require, i.e. if you can afford the 'luxury' of doing embedded development in C++ (or even Java for that matter), because you know that you'll hardly have any issues regarding memory or CPU constraints.

Nowadays, many modern embedded platforms (think gaming consoles, mobile phones, PDAs etc), have really become very capable targets, with RISC architectures, several MB of RAM, and 3D hardware acceleration.

It would be a poor decision, to program such platforms using just C or even assembler out of uninformed performance considerations, on the other hand programming a 16 bit PIC in C++ would probably also be a controversial decision.

So, it's really a matter of asking yourself how much of the power, you'll actually need and how much you can afford to sacrifice, in order to improve the development experience (high level language, faster development, less tedious/redundant tasks).