• Shikadi@wirebase.org
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      1 year ago

      I disagree. Firmware originally referred to things in ROM or EEPROM. Basically software that is firmly in place and doesn’t change, providing an abstraction layer between the hardware and software.

      • tabular@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        This treats the software as if it were a physical chip which can’t be practically changed due to the physics of microchips. The imutability of the storage medium is just a choice of the manufacturer. Sometimes this is a good cost saving feature and sometimes this so they can include anti-features such as preventing repairing your device (e.g. OneWheel).

        • Shikadi@wirebase.org
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          1 year ago

          I’m just telling you where the word comes from. It’s like floppy disks, the 3.5mm ones weren’t floppy but that’s still what we called them because they once were. Firmware used to be something you couldn’t easily change. It sits between the hardware and the software. What exactly would you call it if you think the term is bad?

            • 9point6@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Honestly, I think you’re wrong here, they were colloquially called floppy disks because at the time the whole thing was floppy. If the first floppy disks came in hard casings, they would never have been called floppy disks

              • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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                1 year ago

                Take apart a 3.25" floppy disk, you’ll find the magnetic platter (disc shaped thing) is floppy.

                Take apart a hard disk drive, you’ll find the magnetic platter(s) inside are metal.

                If a floppy disk wasn’t named after the thing inside the casing, why wasn’t it called a floppy square or floppy rectangle?

                • Shikadi@wirebase.org
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                  1 year ago

                  It actually was originally a floppy diskette, but eventually shortened to disk because people are lazy

                  • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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                    1 year ago

                    There’s also the term Floppy Disk Drive, as opposed to Hard Disk Drive.

                    Diskette is a portmanteau of Disk and Cassette. The drive doesn’t read the cassette, it reads the disk inside the cassette. It doesn’t spin the cassette, it spins the disk inside the cassette. Hence Floppy Disk Drive. Sure calling the actual Disk+Cassette object as just “disk” is a little lazy, but calling it a floppy diskette is not lazy because the disk inside is floppy, and the the disk is the most important component of a diskette.

            • Shikadi@wirebase.org
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              1 year ago

              Nope it came from the housing, it was originally called a diskette. The disk itself isn’t really floppy tbh, more bendy. But the old diskettes were floppy af

          • tabular@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Device functionality software, which is low-level? Probably won’t win any minds.

            Besides, if we (and others reading) know what concepts each other is referring to then it really doesn’t matter what word we use.

            • Shikadi@wirebase.org
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              1 year ago

              Firmware is easier to say, at a company I worked at we also called FPGAs gateware which was both interesting and convenient

    • Metallibus@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s closer to the hardware. Generally harder to update. It’s less frequently updated. And it’s less fault tolerant.

      Idk, sure, it’s technically software. But it’s pretty clearly at least a distinct subsection that deserves it’s own moniker.

    • el_pablo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The only common thing between software and firmware is the coding part. Everything else is different. Fault tolerance, memory management, MCU optimization, etc.