What Is Embedded Software?

Embedded software is the operating system and development tool software embedded in hardware. Its related relationship in the industry is: chip design and manufacturing embedded system software embedded electronic device development and manufacturing.

Chinese name: Embedded Software
Foreign name: Embedded software

Field: Software engineering
Application: Embedded Development

Embedded software system

Embedded software definition

Embedded systems are special-purpose computer systems used to perform independent functions. It consists of a series of microelectronic chips and devices including microprocessors, timers, microcontrollers, memories, sensors, etc., and a micro-operating system and control application software embedded in the memory. , Mobile computing, data processing and other automated processing tasks. Embedded systems are centered on applications, based on microelectronics, control technology, computer technology and communication technology, emphasizing the synergy and integration of hardware and software, and software and hardware can be tailored to meet the system's function, cost, and volume And power requirements.

The simplest embedded system only has the ability to perform a single function control. For example, the application of a single-chip microcomputer has only a single function control program in the only ROM. There is no micro operating system. Complex embedded systems, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and handheld computers (HPCs), have almost the same functions as PCs. Essentially, the only difference from the PC is that the micro operating system and application software are embedded in ROM, RAM, and / or FLASH memory, instead of being stored in a carrier such as a magnetic disk. Many complex embedded systems are composed of several small embedded systems.

Embedded software background

In recent years, with the rapid development of computer technology, communication technology-based information technology and the widespread application of the Internet, the traditional control discipline is undergoing changes and many new growth points have appeared. A concomitant phenomenon is that quite a lot of students in control majors have entered the computer and communication industries after graduation, so that some people say that the control of learning is useless, and the automation major can be cancelled. The emergence of these situations has led our control educators to repeatedly think about how traditional control should broaden its field? What should the control major teach to make students feel useful?

Development history of embedded software

The first stage: Early embedded system design methods usually adopted the "hardware first" principle. That is, in the case of only rough estimation of the software task requirements, the hardware design and implementation are performed first. Then, on this hardware platform, software design is performed. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve the effect of making full use of hardware and software resources to obtain the best performance. At the same time, once a problem is found during testing and the design needs to be modified, the entire design process will be re-run, which has a great impact on costs and design cycles. This traditional design method can only improve the respective performance of the hardware / software. It is impossible to make a comprehensive optimization of the system's performance in a limited design space, and it depends to a large extent on the designer's experience and repeated experiments.

The second stage: Since the 1990s, with the increasing power and miniaturization of electronic systems, the problems involved in system design have become more and more difficult. At the same time, hardware and software are no longer two distinct concepts, but are closely combined and affect each other. Therefore, a software-hardware co-design method has emerged, that is, a unified design of software and hardware architectures using a unified method and tool for software and hardware, in order to maximize the system's software and hardware capabilities, and avoid the consequences of independently designing software and hardware architectures. All kinds of disadvantages from the past, get high-performance low-cost optimization design scheme.

Classification of embedded software systems

Popular embedded operating systems can be divided into two categories:

The first type is an embedded operating system that is transplanted from an operating system running on a personal computer to an embedded system, such as Microsoft's Windows CE and its new version, Sun's Java operating system, and Lucent's Inferno, embedded Linux, etc. This type of system has been tested by products such as personal computers or high-performance computers for a long time, and its technology is becoming more and more mature. Its related standards and software development methods have been generally accepted by users. At the same time, it has accumulated rich development tools and application software resources.

The other type is real-time operating system, such as VxWorks of WindRiver, pSOS of ISI, QNX of QNX system software company, Nucleus of ATI, Hopen embedded operating system of Case Group of Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc. Both the real-time and high-reliability design are delicately designed and implemented in accordance with the application field facing them, and independent and complete system development and testing tools are provided, which are mostly used in military products and industrial control fields. .

Linux is an open source operating system that has matured since the 1990s. The Linux version on the PC has been developed very rapidly with the joint development of millions of enthusiasts worldwide. In the late 1990s, uClinux, RTLinux, etc. were successively launched, and they have received extensive attention in the embedded field. It has a large number of programmers and ready-made applications, and is a valuable resource for our research and development work.

New dawn of embedded software

Since the beginning of the 21st century, we have adopted the latest technology in the information industry in the research of embedded systems and their applications, breaking the boundaries between disciplines, and feeling that there are many ways to control, although challenges are everywhere. The "control" we are familiar with in the past has a lot of limitations. First, it does not consider the limitations of hardware, second, it does not consider the complexity and computing capacity of the controller, and third, it does not pay attention to practicality and efficiency. With the continuous introduction of new products by microprocessors, micro-sensors and micro-actuators, the thinking and methods of control are undergoing tremendous changes. After a bit of arduous practice, we have some new insights into the research and teaching of control disciplines. This textbook is summarized on the basis of our scientific research work over the years. It is relatively rough, and we need to make great efforts to improve it in the future.

Embedded software software and hardware features

The hardware of the embedded system must be selected according to specific application tasks, taking power consumption, cost, volume, reliability, processing capacity and other indicators as indicators. The core of the embedded system is the system software and application software. Due to the limited storage space, the software code is required to be compact and reliable. Most of them have strict requirements for real-time performance.

The significance of embedded software learning

In the sense of control, embedded systems involve the lowest level of the system, chip-level information processing and control. In a sense, understanding and controlling these "micro" worlds is the real purpose of control. There are many differences between the embedded system and the control system in the general sense in terms of design ideas and overall architecture, and these differences are precisely less taught to students in traditional control discipline teaching. In today's information society, the share of embedded systems in people's daily work and life may have exceeded the traditional meaning of control systems. This is why our students feel that learning is useless and useful but not learning s reason. In terms of embedded systems and development environments, there are still many problems that are still being researched and developed, such as hardware and software collaborative design methods for embedded systems; multi-target, multi-tasking micro-kernel embedded operating systems; distributed embedded systems Real-time problems, distributed computing, distributed information interaction and comprehensive processing; and research on multi-target cross-compilation and cross-debugging tools for embedded systems. Through the experimental development platform, learn some basic theories of embedded systems and methods and skills of integrated hardware and software design, and implement an embedded system solution yourself, laying a preliminary foundation for future in-depth research.

Conclusion: "Embedded system" as a subject of automation is closely integrated with theory and practice, and a comprehensive professional course with a high level of knowledge and technology will surely gradually mature with the development of the information industry.

Embedded Software Industry Explained

Embedded Software Overview

Embedded software and embedded systems are inseparable. Embedded systems are control, monitoring or auxiliary equipment, machines and workshop running devices, which are application-centric, computer-based, and software and hardware can be tailored. It is suitable for application-specific computer systems that have strict requirements on functions, reliability, cost, size, and power consumption. It generally consists of four parts: embedded microprocessor, peripheral hardware equipment, embedded operating system, and user's application program. It is used to control, monitor or manage other devices. Embedded software is software based on embedded system design. It is also a kind of computer software. It also consists of programs and documents. It can be subdivided into system software, supporting software, and application software. It is an important part of embedded systems. component.

Embedded software applications

Embedded software is widely used in defense, industrial control, home, business, office, medical and other fields. For example, our common mobile phones, PDAs, digital cameras, set-top boxes, MP3, etc. use embedded software technology to intelligentize traditional products Results of the transformation.

The positioning of embedded software in China should focus on the defense industry and industrial control, consumer electronics, and communications industries.

The first market is the digital TV market. China has 80 million cable TV network users, more than 100 million wired telephone network users, more than 300 million color TV sets, and more than 70 million VCD / DVD players. It is estimated that the next decade will be a golden period for set-top boxes. The volume can reach 100 to 150 million units, and the total output will reach 60 to 150 billion yuan.

The second market is the mobile communications market. China is the world s second-largest mobile phone consumer. This year, China s mobile phone users will reach 70 million. It is expected that next year, China will become the world s largest mobile phone consumer; domestic GSM mobile phone manufacturers have reached 14. The annual output of designated mobile phone manufacturers reaches 1 million units (profit point), and the total output will reach 14 million units.

The third market is handheld computers (PDAs). Computers are developing towards miniaturization and specialization. The total sales volume of PDAs will reach 30 million units within 5 years and the total output value will reach 30 billion yuan.

Combining the three markets, the current situation is: the digital TV market has begun; research and development of 2.5G and 3G mobile phones has begun; the market expansion of domestic mobile phone manufacturers has achieved initial success; and the PDA market has initially taken shape.

Formation of embedded software industry

Formation of the embedded software industry

When it comes to the formation of embedded software, we must start with the three stages of computer development. The first phase began in the 1950s with mainframes first developed by companies such as IBM, Burroughs, and Honeywell; the second phase began with personal computers in the 1970s; and the third phase is currently known as the "ubiquitous computer" stage. The PC era created a single platform, the PC, and the post-PC era will be built on the ever-changing platform. Ever-changing applications will produce ever-changing computers, which will require ever-changing software systems. Therefore, embedded software came into being.

Embedded software software classification

1. Embedded operating system: Embedded operating system EOS (Embedded Operating System) is a system software with a wide range of uses. In the past, it was mainly used in the field of industrial control and defense systems. EOS is responsible for all software and hardware resource allocation, scheduling, control and coordination of the embedded system; it must reflect the characteristics of the system in which it is installed, and it can achieve the functions required by the system by loading and unloading certain modules. Embedded operating systems are usually dominated by commercial operations. Since the 1980s, commercial embedded operating systems have begun to flourish. At present, internationally famous embedded operating systems include Windows CE, Palm OS, Linux, VxWorks, pSOS, QNX, OS-9, LynxOS, etc. Foreign products that have entered the Chinese market include WindRiver, Microsoft, QNX, and Nuclear. China's embedded operating system started late. Such products in China are mainly based on the independent copyright Linux operating system, of which Chinasoft Linux, Red Flag Linux, and Oriental Linux are the representatives.

2. Embedded support software: Support software is software used to help and support software development, usually including databases and development tools, of which the database is the most important. Embedded database technology has been widely used. With the advancement of mobile communication technology, people have put forward higher requirements for mobile data processing. Embedded database technology has received attention from academic, industrial, military, and civil sectors. . Embedded mobile database or simply referred to as mobile database (EMDBS) is a database management system that supports mobile computing or a specific computing model. The database system is integrated with the operating system and specific applications and runs on various intelligent embedded devices or mobile devices. on. Among them, the database system embedded in mobile devices has become a very active research and application field because it involves multiple subject areas such as database technology, distributed computing technology, and mobile communication technology. The main international embedded mobile database systems are Sybase, Oracle, etc. The embedded mobile database system in China is represented by the research and development of the embedded database system OpenBASE Mini by Neusoft Group.

3 Embedded application software: Embedded application software is computer software designed to achieve a user's expected goal based on a fixed hardware platform for a specific application field. Because user tasks may have time and accuracy requirements, some embedded application software require the support of specific embedded operating systems. There is a certain difference between embedded application software and ordinary application software. It not only requires its accuracy, security and stability to meet the needs of practical applications, but also needs to be optimized as much as possible to reduce the consumption of system resources. To reduce hardware costs. At present, a variety of embedded application software has appeared on the Chinese market, including browsers, Email software, word processing software, communication software, multimedia software, personal information processing software, intelligent human-computer interaction software, and various industry application software. Wait. Application software in embedded systems is the most active force. Each application software has a specific application background. Although it is small in scale, it is highly specialized. Therefore, embedded application software is not subject to the constraints of operating systems and supporting software. The monopoly of foreign products is an area of advantage for embedded software in China.

Embedded software software features

1. Embedded software has unique practicability. Embedded software serves embedded systems, which requires it to be closely connected with external hardware and equipment. Embedded systems are application-centric,

Embedded software is an application system. It is developed in accordance with application requirements. It is industry-oriented and market-oriented and requires specific industry experience. Each embedded software has its own unique application environment and practical value.

2. Embedded software should have flexible applicability. Embedded software can usually be considered as a kind of modular software. It should be very convenient and flexible to be used in various embedded systems without destroying or changing the original system features and functions. First of all, it should be small and can not occupy a lot of resources; secondly, it should be flexible. Optimize the configuration as much as possible, reduce the overall inheritance of the system, and upgrade and replace it flexibly and conveniently.

Embedded Software Software Development Trend

Since entering the 1990s, information technology with computer technology, communication technology, and software technology as its core has made even more rapid development. The widespread application of embedded computing and systems on various equipment and devices has greatly promoted the industry's penetration applications. Embedded systems are described as: "application-centric, dedicated software systems that can be tailored to software and hardware, and that meet the strict and comprehensive requirements of functions, reliability, cost, volume, and power consumption of application systems." Embedded software consists of two parts. Hardware is the support, software is the soul. Almost all embedded products need embedded software to provide flexible and diverse, and application-specific functions. Because of the wide application of embedded systems, embedded software occupies an important position in the entire software industry and has received widespread attention from countries around the world; it has now become one of the most dazzling "stars" in the information industry.

Regarding the future development of embedded software, we have the following views:

The rapid development of the embedded software industry has become an important part of the software system. Embedded system products are constantly infiltrating various industries. Embedded software, as a special software form included in these hardware products, has an increasing industrial growth rate, and its proportion in the entire software industry is increasing. The global embedded software market size reached 34.6 billion US dollars in 2003, and the Chinese market size reached 18.8 billion yuan in 2003. It is expected that the embedded software market size will exceed the 40 billion yuan mark in 2006, and the average compound growth rate from 2003 to 2006 will reach 30%.

The new round of huge demand for intelligent equipment in the automotive, communications, information appliances, medical, military and other industries has driven the development of embedded software and systems. Unlike traditional general-purpose computer systems, embedded systems are geared towards specific application areas, custom-developed according to application needs, and penetrated into all walks of life with the general demand for intelligent products. With the continuous innovation of hardware technology, the processing capabilities of hardware platforms are constantly enhanced, and the cost of hardware is declining, embedded software has become the key and driving technology of digital transformation and intelligent value-added of products.

SOC technology is a new milestone in the development of microelectronics technology, and has become the development trend of today's ultra-large-scale ICs, providing the IC industry with an unprecedentedly broad market and rare development opportunities. The rapidly developing SOC industry once again promotes the further integration of embedded software and hardware systems. Embedded software is its soul and core. The emergence of SOC technology has changed the design concept of traditional embedded systems. The design technology based on IP component library will become the mainstream of embedded system design; IP component library technology is creating a new software industry.

Embedded Software The current Internet technology only connects about 5% of computing devices, and a large number of embedded devices urgently need network connections to enhance their service capabilities and application value. At the same time, people-centric ubiquitous computing technology is driving a new round of information technology revolution. Computing is omnipresent. Embedded devices will be distributed in various forms in the human living environment, providing more humane and natural services. The computational challenges brought about by the "deep" networking of the Internet and the "vertical" pervasiveness of pervasive computing will drive the development of embedded software technology to "deep", giving birth to new embedded software technologies.

In the past ten years, the embedded operating system has developed rapidly: microprocessors range from 8-bit to 16-bit, 32-bit, and even 64-bit; from supporting a single type of CPU chip to supporting multiple types; from a single core to Provide other functional modules, such as file system, TCP / IP network system, window graphics system, etc .; and form an embedded software system including embedded operating system, intermediate platform software. The advancement of hardware technology has promoted the continuous development of embedded system software in the direction of faster operation, stronger support functions, and more convenient application development.

With the continuous deepening of embedded system applications and the continuous improvement of industrialization, new application environments and industrialization requirements have imposed stricter requirements on embedded system software. Driven by new requirements, the embedded operating system kernel not only needs to have basic features such as miniaturization and high real-time performance, but also will develop in the direction of high credibility, adaptability, and component assembly; supporting the development environment will be more integrated , Automation, and humanization; system software's functional support for wireless communications and energy management will become increasingly important.

Industrial open systems are becoming increasingly popular. Unified industry standards with openness, design technology sharing, software and hardware

Embedded Software The characteristics of reuse, component compatibility, easy maintenance and cooperative production are effective means to enhance the competitiveness of industrial products. The embedded operating system itself is moving towards openness and standardization; Linux is gradually becoming the mainstream of the embedded operating system; J2ME technology will also have a profound impact on the development of embedded software. At present, free software technology is highly favored, and has greatly promoted the development of software technology, which has provided excellent opportunities and conditions for China to accelerate the development of embedded software technology.

From the perspective of national strategic goals and industrial development, embedded software is the key technology to realize the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing. Technology development and rapid development of modern software technology and industry.

We believe that in developing embedded software, China should vigorously develop key and common embedded operating systems and embedded software platforms. Focusing on industries, focusing on industries, relying on leading enterprises, highlighting key areas, and building domain-oriented embedded software The platform system enhances the overall strength of China's embedded operating system manufacturers and enhances the core competitiveness of the embedded software industry in embedded software. Facing the industrial chain, it will build a cooperative strategic industrial technology alliance that supports up and down interaction to promote embedded software. The rapid development of the industry.

Embedded technology is developing rapidly and looks forward to deep penetration in various industries. China has a solid manufacturing foundation, and combined with traditional manufacturing, the embedded system has a huge market space. At the same time, the application and technological innovation based on embedded technology will promote the birth of new products and new industries. Driven by huge market demand and new industrial opportunities, embedded software has become a rare opportunity for China's software industry. It is an opportunity once in 10 years. Embedded applications for smart phones, digital TVs, and automotive electronics are the rare entry points for this opportunity; opportunities and challenges coexist.