> Are you saying that a program in a mask programmed ROM is
> not firmware? Because everybody else that I know would call it
> that.
>
There are many who would disagree with them, Tony. One
characteristic common to all definitions I've run into in firmware
is that it's FIELD-Programmable. Another is that it's non-volatile,
i.e. persists between power cycles.
Richard, you seem to be forgetting all those adverts from the 70s
and 80s that boasted "Firmware in ROM!". Also a quick look at a
dictionary reveals ... 8^)=
---------------------------------------------
firm?ware Pronunciation Key (f?rm w?r ) n.
Computer programming instructions that are stored in a
read-only memory unit rather than being implemented through
software.
Source: The American Heritage? Dictionary of the English
Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright ? 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
---------------------------------------------
firmware
n : (computer science) coded instructions that are stored
permanently in read-only memory.
Source: WordNet ? 1.6, ? 1997 Princeton
University
---------------------------------------------
firmware
Software stored in read-only memory (ROM) or programmable ROM
(PROM). Easier to change than hardware but harder than software
stored on disk. Firmware is often responsible for the behaviour of a
system when it is first switched on. A typical example would be a
"monitor" program in a microcomputer which loads the full operating
system from disk or from a network and then passes control to it.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing,
? 1993-2001 Denis Howe
---------------------------------------------
Lee.
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Received on Sat Apr 13 2002 - 18:32:30 BST