firmware

3 definitions found

firmware - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  firmware
      n 1: (computer science) coded instructions that are stored
           permanently in read-only memory [syn: firmware,
           microcode]

firmware - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  Firmware
  
     Software stored in read-only memory (ROM) or programmable ROM
     (PROM).  Easier to change than hardware but harder than
     software stored on disk.  Firmware is often responsible for
     the behaviour of a system when it is first switched on.  A
     typical example would be a "monitor" program in a
     microcomputer which loads the full operating system from disk
     or from a network and then passes control to it.
  

firmware - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  firmware
   /ferm'weir/, n.
  
     Embedded software contained in EPROM or flash memory. It isn't quite
     hardware, but at least doesn't have to be loaded from a disk like
     regular software. Hacker usage differs from straight techspeak in
  that
     hackers don't normally apply it to stuff that you can't possibly get
     at, such as the program that runs a pocket calculator. Instead, it
     implies that the firmware could be changed, even if doing so would
     mean opening a box and plugging in a new chip. A computer's BIOS is
     the classic example, although nowadays there is firmware in disk
     controllers, modems, video cards and even CD-ROM drives.