Compared with general-purpose computer systems, embedded computer systems have the following characteristics:
1. Embedded systems are usually oriented to specific applications. The biggest difference between embedded CPUs and general-purpose ones is that embedded CPUs mostly work in systems designed for specific user groups. They usually have the characteristics of low power consumption, small size, and high integration. They can integrate many tasks completed by boards in general-purpose CPUs into the chip, which is conducive to the miniaturization of embedded system design, greatly enhanced mobility, and increasingly close coupling with the network.
2. Embedded systems are the product of combining computer technology, semiconductor technology, and electronic technology with specific applications in various industries. It is a comprehensive technical discipline. Due to the relative shortage of space and various resources, the hardware and software of embedded systems must be designed efficiently, tailored to the needs, and redundancy removed, striving to achieve higher performance on the same silicon chip area, so that the choice of processors in specific applications can be more competitive.
3. Embedded systems and specific applications are organically combined, and their upgrades are also carried out simultaneously with specific products. Therefore, once embedded system products enter the market, they have a long life cycle.
4. In order to improve execution speed and system reliability, the software in embedded systems is generally fixed in the memory chip or the microcontroller itself, rather than stored in a carrier such as a disk.
5. The embedded system itself does not have the ability to bootstrap development. Even after the design is completed, users usually cannot modify the program functions therein. A set of development tools and environment are required for development.