Embedded software

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008)

Embedded software is computer software or firmware which plays an integral role in the electronics it is supplied with.

Embedded software's principal role is not Information Technology, but rather the interaction with the physical world. It's written for machines that are not, first and foremost, computers. Embedded software is 'built in' to the electronics in cars, telephones, audio equipment, robots, appliances, toys, security systems, pacemakers, televisions and digital watches, for example. This software can become very sophisticated in applications like airplanes, missiles, process control systems, and so on.

Embedded software is usually written for special purpose hardware: that is computer chips that are different from general purpose CPUs, sometimes using Real-time operating system such as LynxOS, VxWorks, Linux, eCos, ThreadX, Windows CE, Fusion RTOS, Nucleus RTOS, RTEMS, Integrity and Neutrino.