Track 1 · Writing now · Tentative Q4 2026

The Compiler, Linker & Boot Architecture

How source becomes flash bits and boots the silicon: toolchain stages, file formats, optimisation, the ABI, linker scripts and the traps that only appear at -O2.

Why each module matters

• 1.1The Bare-Metal Genesis: Tools, File Formats & StartupSee exactly how source code becomes flash bits and boots the silicon, so you don't depend on a vendor IDE's "magic buttons".
• 1.2Aggressive Optimizations & Link-Time EliminationLearn what each optimisation level and link-time step does, so you can shrink Flash use before reaching for a larger microcontroller.
• 1.3The ABI, Stack Frames & Polyglot RuntimeUnderstand argument passing, register use and stack frames, so you can spot stack corruption and mix C, C++ and assembly with confidence.
• 1.4Stack Architecture, Slot Merging & Frame DiagnosticsLearn how the compiler lays out and shares stack slots, so you can find stack-and-heap collisions caused by variable bloat in nested scopes.
• 1.5Advanced Memory Surgery: Linker Scripts & MAP ForensicsPlace code and data deliberately and read the map file, so alignment mistakes stop turning into HardFaults.
• 1.6The Embedded C Library: Specs, Syscalls & Bloat TrapsKnow what one printf() pulls into Flash, so a stray library call doesn't quietly add tens of kilobytes of dead code.
• 1.7The Hall of Death Traps & The Day 0 ContractRecognise the optimisation-dependent bugs that pass at -O0 and fail at -O2, and why the optimisation level is fixed on day 0.

The cost of a single failure

The failure it addresses

Switching optimisation levels late (-O0 to -O2), running out of Flash, and silent stack-heap collisions.

Typical cost if it happens

$8,000–$12,000 in senior triage (80–120 hours chasing Heisenbugs), or $25,000+ in microcontroller upgrades over a production run.

What the track teaches

Teaches the Day 0 optimisation contract, linker-script budgeting and how the compiler merges stack slots.

Cost benchmarks and engineering labour estimates are drawn from typical industry averages (fully loaded engineering rates of $80–$100 an hour, typical prototype fabrication costs, and low-to-mid volume manufacturing runs). They are provided for risk assessment, educational planning and internal budgeting only. No specific financial return, operational saving or outcome is guaranteed. All tracks