Embedded C Interview Questions 2024

Embedded Systems Interview Questions and Answers 2024: Most Frequently Asked Questions

Embedded C Interview Questions 2024

Basics of Embedded C:

1. What is Embedded C?
2. How is Embedded C different from standard C?
3. Explain the significance of the “volatile” keyword in Embedded C.
4. What is the purpose of the “const” keyword in Embedded C?

Data Types and Operators:

5. Differentiate between “signed” and “unsigned” data types.
6. Explain the concept of bit manipulation in Embedded C.
7. What is the purpose of the “typedef” keyword in Embedded C?
8. Describe the difference between “bitwise AND” and “logical AND” operators.

Pointers and Memory Management:

9. How are pointers used in Embedded C?
10. Explain the significance of the “far” and “near” keywords.
11. What is a memory-mapped register in Embedded C?
12. Describe the purpose of dynamic memory allocation in Embedded C.

Interrupts and Interrupt Handling:

13. What is an interrupt in the context of Embedded C?
14. Differentiate between a maskable and a non-maskable interrupt.
15. How are interrupts prioritized in Embedded C?
16. Explain the concept of interrupt latency.

Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS):

17. What is an RTOS, and how does it differ from a general-purpose operating system?
18. Discuss the advantages of using an RTOS in embedded systems.
19. Explain the terms “task” and “scheduling” in the context of RTOS.
20. How is inter-task communication achieved in an RTOS?

Peripherals and I/O Handling:

21. Describe the role of GPIO in Embedded C.
22. What is the purpose of a device driver in embedded systems?
23. Explain the concept of polling versus interrupt-driven I/O.
24. How do you handle analog signals in Embedded C?

Communication Protocols:

25. Explain the working principle of the UART communication protocol.
26. Differentiate between SPI and I2C communication protocols.
27. What is the significance of the CAN bus in embedded systems?

Timers and Counters:

28. How are timers used in Embedded C?
29. Explain the concept of PWM (Pulse Width Modulation).
30. What is the purpose of a watchdog timer?

Low-Level Programming:

31. What is assembly language, and how does it relate to Embedded C?
32. Explain the concept of inline assembly.
33. How do you optimize code for size versus speed in embedded systems?

System Design and Architecture:

34. Discuss the importance of power management in embedded systems.
35. What is the role of a bootloader in embedded systems?
36. Explain the concept of firmware in the context of embedded systems.
37. How do you achieve code portability in Embedded C?

Testing and Debugging:

38. What tools and techniques are commonly used for debugging embedded systems?
39. How do you perform unit testing in Embedded C?
40. Explain the concept of code profiling.

Security and Safety:

41. Discuss the challenges of ensuring security in embedded systems.
42. How do you handle critical sections in multithreaded embedded applications?
43. Explain the concept of fault tolerance in embedded systems.

Miscellaneous:

44. Describe the purpose of the “restrict” keyword in Embedded C.
45. What is the role of a linker script in embedded software development?
46. How do you handle endianness issues in embedded systems?
47. Explain the concept of cross-compilation.
48. Discuss the importance of code optimization in embedded systems.
49. How do you handle floating-point operations in embedded systems?
50. Describe the differences between microcontrollers and microprocessors.