Embedded software is computer software 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.

Source: Wikipedia.org: Embedded software

This article uses material from Wikipedia^® and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License