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?Definition of Firmware?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In computing, firmware is software that is embedded in a hardware device. Often it is provided in flash ROMs and can be updated by a user. The term was originally coined to indicate a functional replacement for hardware on low cost microprocessors.
Examples of firmware include:
the BIOS found in personal computers,
Open Firmware, used in computers from Sun Microsystems and Apple Computer,
RTAS (Run-Time Abstraction Services), used in computers from IBM,
the computer program in a read-only memory (ROM) integrated circuit (a hardware configuration is usually used to represent the software),
the erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) chip, whose program may be modified by special external hardware, but not by an application program.
Source: from Federal Standard 1037C and from MIL-STD-188
Two popular programming languages used to write firmware are C and Forth.
Unauthorized firmware modifications are sometimes used to provide functionality not intended by the manufacturer. Some examples include bypassing the region encoding of DVD players and enabling functions disabled by provider of mobile phones, such as SIM locks, carrier locks, video capability. etc. Some PlayStation Portable users have found that they can read the flash memory and even add, modify, and delete the flash files.
It should also be noted that the "firm" in "firmware" eludes to the fact the it is not has set in stone as "hardware", and it is not as flexible as "software". "Firm" is considered to be a little softer than hard, but much harder than soft.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. November 2005 @ 06:51
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