Ap Charles raised an interesting question:

I guess this this is another thing that doesn't have a single, hard-and-fast definition - like "what is an embedded system?"


I would say that "firmware" is software that is embodied in a physical device - the "firm" implying that it's (relatively) fixed and not (readily) changeable.

This was easy to see with UV-EPROMs, which could only be changed by physically removing from the system, erasing in a special eraser, and reprogramming in a specail programmer;

It's harder to see nowadays with Flash and in-system programming and in-application updating.

And what about an embedded system that stores its software on one of those miniature, industrial hard drives?
Or a flash drive?

And what about the "code" that configures an FPGA - does that count as "firmware"? (I have heard it called that).

Discuss...