A system is an arrangement in which all the
individual units work together according to specified program or Plan.
So, Embedded System is a system that has
computer hardware and software designed for a specific function. In embedded
system the software is embedded in to hardware which makes a system dedicated
for application specific or may be a part of larger system.
Embedded systems are considered when the cost
of implementing a product designed in software on a microprocessor and some
small amount of hardware is cheaper, more reliable, or better for some other
reason than a discrete hardware design.
In embedded system the code is feed in
micro-controller's ROM memory. So there is no requirement of external program
memory.
Embedded
System Different from Computer System
Embedded
system is designed to perform a specific or a group of specific task. While if
we talk about Computer system which is designed to run a lot of process at the
same time.
In
embedded system there will be few external interfaces and computer can be
connected to many different devices externally.
PC has a relatively expensive generalized central
processing unit (CPU) at its heart with
many other external devices (memory, disk drives, video controllers, network
inter-face circuits, etc.). An embedded system has a low-cost micro controller
unit (MCU) for its intelligence,
with many peripheral circuits on the same chip, and with relatively few external devices.
Main
Component of Embedded System
In
embedded system there are two main components:
·
Hardware
·
Software
Hardware
contains the processor, Power supply, input/output device interfacing, Program
and data memory, Oscillator circuitry etc as shown in figure below:
Embedded
Software
Software
is the program code written for a sequence of specific task and burned in to
Micro-controller program memory. This memory also called as Read Only memory
Flash Memory. Software will monitor all the Input from external environment and
perform operation on data and perform output operation.
Programming
language can be ASSEMBLY, C & C++ etc.
What
is Difference in Embedded and Computer Programming?
A
software developer works on the platform which is totally separated from
Hardware. He does not require going in hardware Details.
In
embedded programming developer directly communicate with the hardware. He
should know the Knowledge of hardware for which code is written.
Computer
Software Engineer Develop code for PC which is run different Systems. Software
written is portable from one system to another system or operating System.
Embedded
Software Engineer writes code for specific hardware. The Software written for
one system for system is not Portable form one device to another device.
Application
of Embedded System
Currently
Embedded System is widely used in Industrial Equipment, Home Appliances,
Security application and Agriculture Industry etc. Main Application Fields are
As Follows:
·
Home and Building
automation.
· Industrial Machine Health Monitoring System
· Medical
Instruments
· Security
Systems
·
Agriculture Automation
