Yep, I'm definitely wrong on this one. Somebody else was whipping on Tony and
I, viscious beast that I am, jumped into the fight before geting my bearings.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Davison, Lee" <Lee.Davison_at_merlincommunications.com>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2002 5:32 PM
Subject: RE: TTL computing
>
> > Are you saying that a program in a mask programmed ROM is
> > not firmware? Because everybody else that I know would call it
> > that.
> >
Must be the coffee! There's no doubt that code living in ROM,
field-programmable or not, is definitely firmware. No question about it. The
notion that gets me wrapped around the axle all the time is the distinction
between configuration of field programmable elements that would otherwise be
hardware as opposed to those that contain what would, if it were RAM resident,
be software. Clearly I got my context mixed up.
> >
> 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.
>
There's no reason to limit ROM/PROM contents to those that are
field-programmable. I was clearly thinking about the PALs and not the code.
>
> 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 - 19:00:32 BST