SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SOFTWARELet’s have a closer look at these different types of software in the next section. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE DRIVERSOnce invoked, the code to be executed is then transferred to the RAM and run from there.Įxamples of software can include Operating systems, all the applications that run on them, drivers and middleware. They are then installed onto the hard-disk. The software come in the form of set up files either in the form of removable media like CDs, DVDs and flash drives or downloaded from the internet straight onto the hard-drive. The end-user can do it with no trouble at all. Software is named so since they are very easy to change (soft is the opposite of “hard”). (You can refer to this article to read more about the different types of memory.) The reason behind the name “Software” What is Software? Software is a program that can work on a wide variety of hardware and they are usually copied from non-volatile memory (like hard-disk or SSD) onto volatile memory (like SRAM and DRAM) before they can start executing. (Though many job ads refer to them as embedded software developers which is a misnomer) Software It is the job of embedded firmware developers is to write this program. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE INSTALLYou can always install applications on your smartphones and computers, but to change/update the firmware you need to download it, verify the integrity of the data, reboot the device and go into boot mode (to read more about boot mode and bootloaders refer to this article), then rewrite the flash memory and reboot it again in normal mode.ĭuring development, it is done with the help of programmer/debuggers like JTAG and SWD which directly connects to the flash memory via a serial protocol like SPI or UART to transfer the code from the computer to the embedded device. (You can refer to this article to read more about the different types of memory.) The reason behind the name “Firmware”įirmware is named so because it is not “hard” to change, at the same time it is not “easy/soft” to change. Nowadays the Masked ROMs have been replaced with Flash memory, which is cheaper and serves the purpose. Then came EEPROMs which used electricity to change the contents. The first replacement of Masked ROMs came in the form of EPROM which can be erased by exposure to UV light and then reprogrammed as required. On your computer, it can be found in the BIOS of your motherboard. Nowadays these kinds of firmware can be found in devices like TVs, washing machines and microwaves. The products were shipped with these unchangeable programs called firmware and they run for ages till the device goes out of use. Originally Firmware is written on Masked ROMs, on which the data cannot be changed once written. What is Firmware? Firmware is a program that is specifically designed to work with particular hardware and it lives in non-volatile memory such a flash and it is executed directly from it. After all of this is done the hardware is said to be “ready” for software development. If you need to change it, you need to design the PCB, manufacture it, assemble components on it, do the necessary tests to ensure everything is connected in the way it is supposed to be and all the components are working as they should. Hardware is named so since it is the hardest part to change in a given product’s life cycle. Examples include PCBs like motherboard, RAM, Integrated Circuits, Processor, Microcontroller, etc.įor embedded engineers, the assembled system is the hardware. It is the only tangible “ware” out of our list that you can physically interact with. What is Hardware? Hardware is a system consisting of electronic devices, designed to work together as a single unit. Let’s start with the familiar term hardware. But why some many types of wares? How do they all fit in? Let’s learn more about them in this article. We hear a lot of these “wares” terms all the time, some are hard, some are soft, some are firm and some are in the middle.
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