问题
Firmware - What exactly is this? I know that it isn't a piece of code which just helps in communicating with the hardware since it is the device driver's function.
I guess it is something more complex than that. All the time I see firmware updates for my mp3 players and smartphone. In smartphones I see that after a firmware update the OS's version is bumped up e.g., from Ice Cream Sandwich it goes to Jelly Bean (Android). Does this mean that firmware is an alias to OS?
回答1:
Firmware is just software that is programmed into a device. In the example you used, the OS would qualify being called firmware. In other devices, it could be less sophisticated than iOS or Android, for example, a lot of DVD players and Blueray players have a firmware component, so do smart TV that are Internet enabled and routers, for instance.
来源：https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14882105/demistifying-firmware