Embedded C Coding Standard

GERMANTOWN, Maryland – Barr Group, The Embedded Systems Experts®, today released an update of the influential Embedded C Coding Standard. Also known as BARR-C:2018, the latest version of the company’s stylistic coding rules helps embedded system designers reduce defects in firmware written in C and C++.

First published in 2008, the rules of Barr Group's Embedded C Coding Standard are followed by embedded software developers who want to reduce time spent during the debugging stage of their projects as well as improve the maintainability and portability of their source code. Followers of earlier versions of the BARR-C coding standard will find that little has changed about the rules themselves. Clarifications and additional code examples have been added to make the rules easier to understand and apply. For the 2018 edition, Barr Group has eliminated the few prior conflicts between its rules and those in the MISRA C:2012 - Guidelines for the Use of the C Language in Critical Systems.

Many firmware developers choose to combine bug-killing stylistic rules from the BARR-C standard with safety guidelines from MISRA C. According to recent industry surveys, BARR-C and MISRA C are the two most widely-followed coding standards, with four out of ten professional embedded system designers applying one or both on their current project.

“The Embedded C Coding Standard’s emphasis on defect-killing stylistic rules has always complemented MISRA C’s style-less focus on a safer language subset,” says Barr Group CTO Michael Barr. “To ensure that developers are able to seamlessly combine rules from these important standards, we have updated our standard and verified that all of our rules are in harmony with the most recent version of MISRA C.”

Andrew Banks, who is Chairman of the MISRA C Working Group adds, “We are pleased that embedded systems engineers are increasingly adopting defect-reducing coding standards such as MISRA C and the Embedded C Coding Standard. Now that the guidelines from MISRA can be more easily coupled with the stylistic rules from BARR-C, we look forward to seeing embedded software designers take even greater steps towards improving the safety, security, and overall code-quality of their products.”

BARR-C:2018 is immediately available in a free PDF download and in HTML format at https://barrgroup.com/coding-standard and print copies can be purchased at Amazon.com. In addition, an editable (Microsoft Word) copy of BARR-C:2018 is available for download and license for teams wanting to customize the rules to their project-specific needs.

For more information about Barr Group’s Embedded C Coding Standard contact [email protected].

About Barr Group

Barr Group, The Embedded Systems Experts®, is an independent provider of world-class technical consulting and firmware training for the embedded systems industry. Founded by internationally known experts in the design of safe and secure embedded systems, Barr Group is driven by its mission to help companies improve the overall reliability and security of all embedded systems–based applications. Applications strengthened as a result of services and resources provided by Barr Group include those in the automotive, medical, defense, industrial controls, consumer electronics, and Internet of Things (IoT) markets. For more information about Barr Group, go to www.barrgroup.com.

About MISRA

MISRA is a consortium concerned with promoting best practice in developing safety- and security-related embedded systems. MISRA publishes documents that provide accessible information for engineers and management, and holds events to permit the exchange of experience between practitioners. All contributors to MISRA donate their time as a personal commitment to the development of safer systems. Current activities are MISRA C, MISRA C++, MISRA Autocode and MISRA Safety Analysis. More information is available at misra.org.uk

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Barr Group, The Embedded Systems Experts, BARR-C, and Embedded C Coding Standard are trademarks or service marks of Integrated Embedded, LLC d/b/a Barr Group.

"MISRA" and "MISRA C" are registered trademarks owned by HORIBA MIRA Ltd, held on behalf of the MISRA Consortium.