Firmware is the permanent software programmed into a read-only memory of a computing device. Firmware, which is usually added at the time of manufacturing, is necessary to run user programs on the device. The firmware software provides control, monitoring, and data manipulation of devices or products. Typical examples of devices containing firmware are embedded systems such as traffic lights, consumer appliances, remote controls, digital watches, computers, computer peripherals, mobile phones, and digital cameras. The firmware contained in these devices provides low-level control for the device. Firmware code persists across power cycles (switching on and off, and back on).
Firmware is held in non-volatile memory such as ROM, EPROM, or flash memory. Most firmware can be updated. Common reasons for updating firmware include fixing bugs or adding features to the device. This is usually done by reprogramming the flash memory through a special procedure. Firmware, such as the...