I am searching real difference between firmware and embedded software.
On the internet it is written for firmware is firmware is a type of embedded software but not vice versa. In addition to that a classic BIOS example it is very old.
They both run in non-volatile memory. One difference is Embedded software like an application programming that has an rtos and file system and can be run on RAM.
If i dont use rtos and RAM and only uses flash memory it means my embedded software is a firmware, it is true?
What actually makes real difference its memory layout.
The answers on the internet are lack of technical explanations and not satisfied.
Thank you very much.
They are not distinctly separate things, or even well defined. Firmware is a subset of software; the term typically implies that it is in read-only memory:
Software refers to any machine executable code - including "firmware".
Firmware refers to software in read-only memory
Read-only memory in this context includes re-writable memory such as flash or EPROM that requires a specific erase/write operation and is not simply random-access writable.
The distinction between RAM and ROM execution is not really a distinction between firmware and software. Many embedded systems load executable code from ROM and execute from RAM for performance reasons, while others execute directly from ROM. Rather if the end-user cannot easily modify or replace the software without special tools or a bootloader, then it might be regarded as "firm". If on the other hand a normal end-user can modify, update or replace the software using facilities on the system itself (by copying a file from removable media or network for example), then it is not firmware. Consider the difference in operation for example in updating your PC's BIOS and updating Microsoft Office - the former requires a special procedure distinct from normal operating system services for loading and running software.
For example, the operating system, bootloader and BIOS of a smart phone might be considered firmware. The apps a user loads from an app-store are certainly not firmware.
In other contexts "firmware" might refer to the configuration of a programmable logic device such as an FPGA as opposed to sequentially executed processor instructions. But that is rather a niche distinction, but useful in systems employing both programmable logic and software execution.
Ultimately you would use the term "firmware" to imply some level of "permanence" of software in a system, but there is a spectrum, so you would use the term in whatever manner is useful in the context of your particular system. For example, I am working on a system where all the code runs from flash, so only ever use the term software to refer to it because there is no need to distinguish it from any other kind of software in the system.
Related
As far as I understand, ...
virtualization, although commonly used to refer to server virtualization, refers to creating virtual versions of any IT component, such as networking and storage
although containerization is commonly contrasted to virtualization, it is technically a form of server virtualization that takes place on the OS level
although virtual machines (VMs) commonly refer to the output of hardware-level server virtualization (system VMs), they can also refer to the output of application virtualization (process VMs), such as JVM
Bearing the above in mind, I am trying to wrap my head around the difference between containers and process VMs (NOT system VMs). In other words, what is the difference between OS-level server virtualization and application virtualization?
Don't both technically refer to one and the same thing: a platform-independent software execution environment that is created using software that abstract the environment’s underlying OS?
Although some say that the isolation achieved by container is a key difference, it is also stated that a system VM "is limited to the resources and abstractions provided by the virtual machine"
I have created a graphic representation for you, it is easier (for me) to explain the differences like this, I hope it helps.
OS-level virtualization aims to run unmodified application for a particular OS. Application can communicate with external world only through OS API, therefore a virtualization component put on that API allows to present different image of external world (e.g. amount of memory, network configuration, process list) to applications running in different virtualization context (container). Generally application runs on "real" CPU (if not already virtualized) and does not need (and sometimes have) to know that environment presented by OS is somehow filtered. It is not platform-independent software execution environment.
On the other hand, application VM aims to run applications that are prepared specially for that VM. For example, a Java VM interpretes a bytecode compiled for a "processor" which has little common with a real CPU. There are CPUs which can run some Java byte code natively, but the general concept is to provide a bytecode effective for software interpretation on different "real" OS platforms. For it to work, JVM has to provide some so called native code to interface with OS API calls it is run on. You can run your program on Sparc, ARM, Intel etc. provided that you have OS-specific intepreter application and your bytecode is conformant to specification.
I've recently begun researching what it would take to program a JIT compiler. I've been studying on machine language, but I haven't been able to find what type of machine languages most standard PCs run on. I found this PDF which seems to explain a type of ML, but it says it's MIPS, which, after looking it up, seems to be some kind of old, videogame console/router machine language. So, my question is,
What machine language do most modern personal computers (i.e. laptops, desktops) run on?
Or, is it indeterminable? Are there many machine languages? Or maybe I'm wrong, and MIPS is standard?
The machine language used by a given processor is a function of its instruction-set architecture ("ISA").
Most desktop and laptop computers today running Microsoft Windows use "64-bit" processors implementing the "x86-64" ISA, such as those in Intel's "Core i5" and "Core i7" processor families. Commonly referred to as "x64", this is the 64-bit extension (created by AMD) for the original "IA-32" ISA (created by Intel).
Both "IA-32" and "x64" are examples of Complex Instruction Set Computing ("CISC") architectures. On the other hand, MIPS is an example of the much simpler Reduced Instruction Set Computing ("RISC") style of architectures.
When talking about JIT compilers, it is important to distinguish between the ISA of the virtual machine running the byte-code and the ISA of the underlying physical processor. Most virtual machines are based upon RISC architectures, because of their relative simplicity. However, most likely this VM-plus-JIT-compiler will be physically running on an x64-compatible CISC processor.
This is what wikipedia says:
In computer software, an application
binary interface (ABI) describes the
low-level interface between an
application (or any type of) program
and the operating system or another
application.
ABIs cover details such as data type,
size, and alignment; the calling
convention, which controls how
functions' arguments are passed and
return values retrieved; the system
call numbers and how an application
should make system calls to the
operating system; and in the case of a
complete operating system ABI, the
binary format of object files, program
libraries and so on. A complete ABI,
such as the Intel Binary Compatibility
Standard (iBCS), allows a program
from one operating system supporting
that ABI to run without modifications
on any other such system, provided
that necessary shared libraries are
present, and similar prerequisites are
fulfilled.
I guess that an ABI is a convention or standard, and compilers/linkers use this convention to produce object codes. Is that right? If so who made these conventions(companies or some organization)? What was it like when there was no ABIs? Is there documents about these ABIs that we can refer to?
You're correct about the definition of an ABI, up to a point. The classic example is the syscall interface in Linux (and other UNIXes).
They are a standard way for code to request the operating system to carry out certain duties.
As such, they're decided by the people that wrote the OS or, in the case where the syscalls have been added later, by whoever added them (in cases where the OS allows this). For example, the Linux syscall interface on x86 states that you load the syscall number into eax, with other parameters placed in ebx, ecx and so on, depending on the syscall you're making (eax).
Typically, it's not the compiler or linker which do the work of interfacing, rather it's the libraries provided for the language you're using.
Returning to Linux, the GNU C libraries contain code for fopen (for example) which eventually call the relevant syscall to perform the lower level tasks (syscall number 5, open). A list of the syscalls can be found in this PDF file.
Specification is more suitable term than convention, as convention is loose term for widely accepted practice whereas specification is well-defined.
You are right. The specification is made by standardization body. Take a look at POSIX specification which is supported by Windows and compiler/build tool-chains such as gcc assume OS's to adhere by it, and even Linux kernel partially (almost exactly) adheres to it.
Before ABIs? Even today, firmware is hand-crafted as new chips come along for set-top boxes and such other devices having embedded systems.
The documentation is digital logic content in the data-sheet for the chips to be programmed by assembly language and for higher-level language, the cross-compiler tool-chain documentation gives away the assumptions that should be part of ABI.
Well, the concept of ABI was presumably conceived to support the binary compatibility of your program on other operating systems and machine architectures. So, lets suppose that you wrote a program on some operating system distribution running on x86 architecture. Now, for a programmer the most important thing is that this program that you wrote on your machine should be able to run exactly the same on any other machine running on same or different architecture lets say for the sake of discussion that the other machine is running on i386 architecture and this is where the concept of ABI or Application Binary Interfaces comes in. As every machine architecture defines its own way in which the operating system kernal talks to the outside world i.e user-space programs, hence every architecture defines a different set of system calls, machine registers, how those registers are used, how are software interrupts handled by the kernal and so on. ABI is the thing that handles these things for you like compiling, linking, byte ordering and so on. System programmers have had hard luck defining a uniform ABI for same operating systems running on different architectures and that is why every machine architecture has its own and you need to compile your programs in order to confirm to the format those machines have.
Let's say I have a piece of code that runs fine on an OS. Now, if I install that OS on a virtual machine (server virtualization), and run that code on that, is it possible that the code behaves differently?
If so, what are the prerequisites for that? For example, does it have to be compiled machine code (in other words, are interpreted languages safe?)? Does it have to be certain OS instructions? Specific virtualization technology (Xen, KVM, VMware..)?
Also, what are the possible different behaviors?
Yes. Like any machine, the virtual machine is just another computer (implemented in software instead of hardware).
For one, lots of commercial apps will blow up when you run them on a VM due to:
copy protection detecting the VM
copy protection rigging your hardware, using undocumented features of BIOS/Kernel/hardware
Secondly, a VM is just another computer consisting of hardware implemented in assembly instead of circuits/dye/microcode/magic. This means the VM must provide the emulated hardware either through pass-through or emulation. The fact that hardware is very diverse can cause all kinds of different behavior. Also note the possible lack of drivers for or acceleration of the emulated hardware.
But of course a typical business application for example isn't nearly as likely to rely on any hardware details as all it does is call some GUI API.
Interpreted languages are only safe from this to the extent that they are "interpreted", if the interpreted language calls out to some native code, all this is possible again.
For an example of something detecting that it's running under a VM, check this, it's just one of the literally thousands of ways to detect the VM.
In theory the program should run exactly the same as on a physical machine.
In practice however, there may be differences due to
Machine\OS configuration and drivers
Load of the virtual machine host.
Differences in machine configuration are similar to difference you would see between any difference physical machine. Depending on how critical you application is to the end user, you should run the same set of tests that you would a physical box to determine whether the environment is acceptable for use.
Depending on the virtualisation technology, the host may not have the ability to guarantee the client resources at specific times. This can lead to weird behavior on the client. Potentially you would see more occurrences of application errors due to IO timeouts an starvation of memory.
To successfully virtualise an application for production use you need to do a bit of work to understand the resource profile of the application\client and virtual host.
Do they exist on linux platforms?
Rings are x86 processor architecture terminology, in which the processor can execute in one of four different operating modes called "priority levels, numbered zero to three. Priority level zero is allowed to perform any operation on the CPU, while priority level three is the most restricted - there are some instructions that cannot be executed at priority level three. Ref.
DLL injection is not specific to any operating system.
Well, DLL injection is not a Windows-specific concept, Linux can do it too, and it might be slightly simpler. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DLL_injection). Also, IIRC the three "rings" are an x86 specific concept (not OS dependent). So to answer your question, no, none of these things is Windows specific.
The ring concept is a very general one, as the wikipedia entry explains. Re Linux specifically, it says:
Linux and Windows are two operating
systems that use supervisor/user-mode.
To perform specialized functions,
user-mode code must perform a system
call into supervisor mode or even to
the kernel space where trusted code of
the operating system will perform the
needed task and return it back to user
space.
Other operating systems (as, again, the article mentions, pointing to other articles for more details) can use different security architectures (esp. capability-based ones).