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.

This software can become very sophisticated in applications like airplanes, missiles, process control systems, and so on.

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.

For example, the word processor in one integrated software package will not automatically generate a table of contents and have fewer options on how to handle footnotes, headers and footers to text.

The embedded software combines the function of several programs with a single interface. This program is usually designed for the novice user or incidental. It omits many features found in products that could be isolated.

Microsoft Works is an example of an embedded software.

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.