Re: What does 'embedded' really mean?

"Tim Wescott" <tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:742dnQIXdZtzs9vYnZ2dnUVZ_vCdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mike Noone wrote:

I was recently asked what 'embedded' really means, and I did not have a
good answer. Can anybody try to define it? I just am not sure as to a
concrete definition - I only can give examples of what is and what
isn't embedded.

I take the term "embedded processor" to mean any processor that's embedded
into a system, the purpose of which is _not_ to present my processor in a
pleasing aspect -- so while the Pentium that is helping me write this is
in some sense embedded in the PC, it's not really embedded.

On the other hand, the MSP430 that's controlling the little levitating
dingle-ball by my elbow* _is_ embedded, even though I can see through the
clear plastic of the evaluation kit from TI to the processor.

Another definition of "embedded" is "has a single job to do", i.e. does not
run user-defined application code. So, while your Pentium isn't embedded,
the processor in your hard drive is - it has a single job to do, namely
managing the hard drive subsystem. Ditto with a USB device, or an old-style
graphics controller, or the keyboard...

Steve
http://www.fivetrees.com


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