How to write to memo

How would I write to memory?

I am trying to write a simple test for RAM to check basic integrity of the memory on board an embedded device. This is what I want to be able to do:

Essentially write out certain patterns: «10101010101010» to a block of memory then write «01010101010» then re-write the first one and test to see if the pattern was written correctly.

I am trying to write this program in C. I was wondering how I would go about writing this pattern. I want to be able to flip certain bits within the RAM memory cells on and off.

Would I just get allocate a block of memory and then write do something like

Would the code above work?? Will writing out the hex patterns to memory turn the bits on in the pattern?

I know the code above is horribly mangled but I just want to get an idea if doing something like that with the correct logic will achieve the desired result.

3 Answers 3

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You have a chicken and egg problem. In order to get enough code running to do mallocs or even use C code, you already have working memory.

You need to define your problem. For example is this design verification or production testing? Are you testing the memory chip itself or the board. Normally you will buy working/tested chips (memory) or memory chips that have some vendor defined quality. And your testing is often production testing, the manufacturing solder points. The data lines, the address lines, the control lines.

The chicken and egg problem is you want to run software on the embedded processor which requires code that runs somewhere, and that implies memory (could just be flash and not need any or minimal). the ideal situation is to either run completely out of rom, using processor resources only or internal chip resources only and no exteral ram so the external ram can be completely tested. Every address line, etc. Otherwise you need to come up with a scheme or declare chunks of memory to not be tested.

Or take a multi stage approach, the rom boot code can do a quick check of a small part of ram without using it to run. Then copy the main test program to that small chunk of ram and run within it. Then do the main memory tests with more code flexibility. Can use C instead of assembler for example. You might for example pre-test, super simple test, 25% of the ram, then copy the test there, test the other 75%, then move the program to another 25% in the ram space and do the heavy test on the first 25% that didnt get a full test.

Types of test, you need to understand the failures, you may want to test solder joints in particular and pcboard traces. So you can have open connections so you want to make each pin a one and a zero, also you can have shorts, which the one and zero covers, and you might have «friendly bits» where neighboring pins might have a short to each other so you want to have each pair of signals be different from each other.

Often folks will do tests like all ones, all zeros, 5s, As. Then checkerboard tests where one memory location has say 5s and the next has As. for address line testing you need to use non-powers of two, or even better every memory location in memory has a different value, for example 32 bit words each getting their own address.

As a quick test I cover most of that in a couple of tests, if you use a pseudo randomizer, something repeatable like an lfsr, one pass to fill all of memory using the randomizer, re-seed, go back through and check. then go through again and fill with inverted values, re-seed and verify inverted values. you get address bits, each data line but not all neighbors are checked. re-seeding and starting all of this over moving the random pattern around can cover that. sometimes just using the random test as the address test and the traditional ones zeros fives As, 3s, Cs, 6s, 9s, etc.

as far as your pointer to memory under test you dont just malloc you need to know the physical address and deal with the translation if any so that if/when there is a problem you are communicating in physical addresses. Also you know and control how much of the memory. Normally I will write processor based tests in C, but wont use any C library calls (like malloc or printf or anything like that).

Sample Memo – How to Write it Properly

A professional memo is an effective tool of communication within organizations and is used to spread the information or for a call to action. It is used to address the people in general or the departments. So you have to be experienced in writing as well as the subject in order to effectively communicate the message.

There are certain rules and standards for memo writing like other business communications and documents. If you are already aware of those rules and standards, it will be relatively easy for you to write a memo. However, it will be helpful to have a look at some successful memos written for different purposes.

Essential parts of the memo

Before we look at the example memos, let’s have a quick overview of the memo format to understand how to write a successful memo and when to use it.

The heading and subject line

This part contains the basic details like the sender’s name and designation, recipient’s name and designation, the date on which the memo is written and a strong subject line that makes the purpose clear to the audience.

Opening part

This section contains the purpose and context of the memo that gives your audience the idea of what will be there in the main content part of the memo. It’s like a brief overview for the audience that can give them a reason to read further. If written properly, it will also ensure your audience that the points and information discussed in the memo are relevant to them and address their needs.

The context part

In this section, you will connect the memo content with the context by providing the background of the problem. You can mention the circumstances or events that have created the situation or the problem.

Task or action part

After you have addressed the background of the event or circumstance, you can describe the steps or actions you are going to take to solve the problem. You will see how this part is written in the writing example of a memo on tea break timings given in this article.

Discussion part

This part is the longest part and contains the detailed information on the subject. It can be the key points and arguments in support of the background, problem and the solution. You should write the most important ideas and steps first and then write arguments and facts to support them.

Conclusion or summary

A summary is a brief overview and contains key information in the memo. It depends on the memo style and generally written when the memo is longer than one page. Your audience can quickly know what the memo is about. You can also include the reference to the sources of information used to support your ideas.

Closing statement

Like other communication documents, you should close your memo with a warm sentence. It can convey the benefits your audience will be getting from the solution to the problem.

Attachment if any

If your memo contains the information for which your audience may need to refer to the other documents like graphs, tables, charts, and images, you can include them as an attachment and mention about it below the closing statement.

When to use a memo

A memo should be used when you want the communication to be formal and actionable. It should be used when the information is large and can’t be covered within the email body. It should be used when the memo will be referred multiple times during the solution process or meetings. It should be used when your audience needs it to be stored and printed when needed. And it should be used when the information is confidential, classified and/or to be used for legal proceedings.

It should be fairly clear on when and how to write a memo now. Please see the memo examples given below to have more understanding on how to write it.

Sample memo for using digital marketing campaigns for toys

Memorandum

To: Martha Watson, Chief Marketing Executive

From: John Smith, Digital Marketing Expert

Date: August 14, 2018

Subject: New Digital Marketing Campaign for Toys

As per our market survey and analysis, parents are becoming more open to online shopping. In order to leverage this trend and make the most out of our online shopping website for kids toys, we need to launch a new digital marketing campaign. Online advertisement and promotions will help us reach more population within our country and convert potential customers into successful orders.

People are no longer relying on the traditional ways of shopping and turning towards the online shopping websites and mobile applications. So we need to use the internet to reach our potential customer at the mass level and increase our revenue.

Digital Marketing

According to a recent survey, around 35% of parents in the urban area are doing a job and have very little time for shopping in the traditional way. On the other hand, they spend more time using mobile internet and order things from grocery to ready to eat food and clothes to electronic items. They spend more hours on the internet surfing various websites. Following are the most popular sites among them.

Focusing on paid ads and promotions on these platforms will be beneficial in boosting the awareness, targetting potential customer base and increasing the demand for our toys in the market. By using Google’s large search and display network and YouTube, we will target specific demographics and leverage the power of online marketing.

If you need additional help with writing, choose one of the services listed below:

Marketing campaigns on Search and display network of Google

Since the rise in the internet usage and mobile app technologies, people are becoming more dependent on e-Commerce platforms. So this is the right time to start focusing on online business rather than local sales and delivery method. Apart from the wholesale marketing, we can start using giant online shopping websites like Amazon and eBay to improve our sales and revenue. These companies provide an easy and hassle-free delivery service which will make it easy for us to start benefiting from retail sales.

Marketing campaigns on Social media and online video platforms

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube are very popular among the people and can be used to promote our toy products. People spend 1 hour on an average on these sites and can be effectively targeted with our ad campaigns. Social media has become an important part of the life and companies are taking benefits of this trend. So we should also concentrate our efforts on social media marketing.

Same way, people often watch videos for information and fun, and we can use online video platforms to promote our toys by using paid ads. Video ad types like in-stream, Pre-Roll and Bumpers are very effective modes of advertisements. We can use them depending on our goals and desired results.

By using digital marketing, we will be able to attract a large customer base, increase our market share and boost the sales and revenue.

Note: The statistics and numbers given here are fictional and are used for the example purpose only.

Sample memo of implementing new tea break timings

Memorandum

To: All Staff

From: Steve Tailor, Production Manager

Date: August 14, 2018

Subject: Changes in Tea Break Timings to Reduce Non-Productive Time

Based on production reports and in-out time reports from past three months, we have observed that the Tea break timings are not being followed strictly. It has affected the overall productivity and discipline level on the production floor.

Current tea break time is of 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening, but employees are taking 30 minutes in each break. From the reports, we have observed that average employee is spending 30 minutes more in tea breaks (15 minutes in each tea break) resulting in 10 non-productive hours per employee per month. We have 250 employees, so the total non-productive hours are 2500 hours per month. You can imagine how much lose the company has to bear due to this practice.

Therefore, it has become very necessary to revise the break timings and implement the new Tea break rules. It will help us achieve more productivity by reducing the non-productive time. New rules for the Tea break will be as follows.

These rules will be helpful in curbing the improper practice of taking longer than stated tea breaks and will improve the overall production. Sending the staff for the tea break in two groups will ensure that the production and quality testing are not stopped at the same time.

It will also help utilize the tea break area in a comfortable way as it will reduce the rush at the same time.

I look forward to all staff for the cooperation which will help improve their productivity and ultimately the growth of the company. It will enable the company to pay more bonuses and pay raises in the long term.

How To Write a Good and Clear Memorandum

What is a memorandum – definition

It is good to understand the meaning of a memo before you proceed to encrypt one so that you can be, of what you are writing. A memorandum is a short notice usually written by the management to address a certain policy or give a certain announcement or changes in an organization. In official instances, a memo is usually written by the organization heads, but even students at different levels of education may be examined on the same.

So, whether you are a student or working-class, writing a memo is a very important skill that you cannot afford to miss. A memo can also be written in a business case where you are writing to confirm to your suppliers that you have received certain goods. This type of memo called a business memorandum.

You can find professional memo writers here:

How to write a good memo

It is good to know how to come up with the best memo so that whatever you are trying to pass across to your audience is clear. In most cases, a memo is usually used to address very critical matters and therefore it has to come out clear so that the content of the information being passed is not distorted. Below are some of the tips that you need to pay attention to while writing your memo:

A memorandum writing format.

The format of your memo should adhere to the required rubric because one can be able to identify a memo from its format. In the notice board you may find several notices of which others are usually, meant for motivations purposes, so it is the format that will distinguish your memo from other notices.

The header

At the top of the page, you should indicate that it is a memo in capital letters. This helps to give identity to your document.

The recipient addresses

Immediately after the header, you should write the recipient address. Be official in writing the name of the recipient whether it is one person or a group of people. The address helps the readers to know whom the memo is being addressed to. You should also include other recipients if you wish your memo to address a different group of people. When you have more than one recipient, you can use the following format:

In this format, the cc will serve to address another recipient that you wish to address apart from your main.

The sender

After the recipient’s address, you should indicate where the memo is coming from, write your name and your position if you have one so that the readers can be able to know you.

The date

After writing the senders name you should write the date in the right format so that the readers can be able to know when was the memo sent. The date is important because it distinguishes the old and new memos in the notice board.

The title

After the date, you should write the title of the memo. In the title, you should indicate what the memo is all about clearly. The title carries a heavy weight in your memo because it should tell the reader what the memo is all about in the shortest words.

On the formatting of the heading and the addresses you should:

From: The IT Director.

Subject: Promotions in Different Departments.

The body

The second part of the memo format is the body. You should keep your memo as short as possible by avoiding more stories in the body paragraphs. Below are some of the tips on how to come up with the best body for your memo:

Types of memos

There are different types of memos that you can be asked to write. It is good to get familiar with each type so that you can be able to classify and know where it falls. Below are some of the memo types that you can come across:

Memo examples

A good writer would always have the passion of going through different samples to improve their proficiency. A memo template will help you to understand how you are supposed to orient your work to look appealing in the eyes of the reader. Below is a memo sample that should act to guide you on how to plan your work and keep to the right format.

To: All students taking IT course at the university.

From: The department chair.

Subject: Submission of your final project.

It has come to our notice that some of you have not submitted their final year projects which is very crucial at this moment because it determines whether you will graduate or not. In the previous years, we have had the same incidents and students usually come back to me crying when they find out that their name is not on the graduation list.

The project will account for forty percent of your final grade and that is why it should be taken seriously. On that note the department has given out a deadline of 3rd august 2018, if you do not have submitted your project by then, you will have to wait 1 academic year to graduate. You are all advised to submit your project before the due date as we do not want you to suffer when it comes to graduation. Thanks in advance.

It is good to go through such examples because they help you to understand how to format your work. You also get to know the right tone to use for your memo. The tone is usually very important in memo writing because it will determine the attitude that the recipients will have towards your memo. Am guaranteed that from this guide you are going to be the best writer of a memorandum to suit all kinds of audience.

How to Write a Memo || Ways of Preparing Memo (Template & Examples)

Preparing memo is a complex matter. In preparing memo, due attention should be given to the messages and receivers. At the same time, clarity of message should be maintained and excessive wording should be avoided.

Sponsored Links The following techniques should be kept in mind while writing office memo.

Table of Contents

How to Write a Memo

Tone

Tone of office memo depends on its direction and importance of the message. Upward moving memo is more formal than the horizontal and downward moving memos.

Because upward moving memo goes from subordinates to superiors. Again, memo carrying important message is always written formally. On the other hand, informal memo is written to convey less important message.

An informal memo containing less important message and a formal memo containing important message are given below:

Content

Content is an important part of a memo. The writer should take clear idea about the subject matter that he wants to convey. In writing the contents of memo, proper procedure should be followed.

In order to make the memo understandable to the readers, background information should also be considered in outlining the content of memo.

Techniques

Using proper technique of writing memo certainly improves the quality of memo. The following are the techniques of improving the quality of memos:

Memo Tip #1 : Make sure you have a crazily-easy-to-understand request BEFORE writing your memo.

A lot of memos are long, rambling, and by the end you don’t even know what the heck it’s about.

Ask yourself these questions first:

If you cannot answer any of those questions, perhaps you need to re-think if you should send out this memo.

Needless memos take up time, cause needless frustration, and pile more work onto already-busy people. So let’s make sure the memo is 100% necessary before sending it out!

Memo Tip #2 : Get the «essential info» out of the way, in the shortest space possible.

Sometimes the header of a memo will get comically long, and make it very difficult to read.

The header is often not very important, so you’ll want to minimize the amount of space the header takes up, such as:

Remember that a lot of people open their messages and emails on different devices such as tablets and phones, and if your header is too long, they have to scroll a significant amount to see the real meat of the memo.

Memo Tip #3 : Your memo should convey all the information in the smallest amount of text possible.

If you followed Memo Tip #1, then you know the exact action you want taken by the readers of your memo. Get to this action part fast as possible!

There’s no need to drag out the memo, add unnecessary commentary, or use large words to appear smart. Just get straight to the point.

If you’re feeling smart-alecky or adventurous, feel free to use an image, like this!

Who says well-crafted memos can’t be fun? 🙂

Memo Tip #4 : Repeat and bold the action people should take at the end (in one sentence).

Make sure you re-iterate exactly what you need from people at the end of the memo:

Simply stating what you need from people at the end will dramatically increase how many people take the action.

Memo Tip #5 : If action doesn’t need to be taken, then tell them.

_______________________________ No action required. _______________________________

Those three words let everyone know there’s nothing further they have to do.

Example of a great memo 🙂

Characteristics of a great memo:

Example of a bad memo 🙁

Characteristics of a bad memo:

The Good Memo Checklist :

A quick checklist to run through before sending a memo.

By following this quick checklist, you can turn a Long & Boring Memo into a Quick & Effective Memo!

So before sending a memo, just remember to follow these quick guidelines:

Remember my friend.

Sincerely, Neville Medhora

Want to show your team a great video about how to write a memo? Show them this How to Write A Great Memo video!

Download this Memo Guide as a PDF for sharing:

P.S. If this article cumulatively prevents 100,000 bad memos per year, we can save the world-wide workforce over 166,666 wasted hours!

Each memo gets sent to 20 people. Each memo wastes 5 minutes of time per person. [100,000 memos] x [20 people] x [5 minutes] = 10,000,000 minutes = 166,666 hours saved.