Lesson plan
Hardware-dependent software
Hardware-dependent software (HDS or HdS), the part of an operating system that varies across microprocessor boards and is comprised notably of device drivers and of boot code which performs hardware initialization. HDS does not comprise code which is only specific to a processor family and can run unchanged on various members of it. The HDS is alternatively called the BSP, for Board Support Package, especially in the world of commercial operating systems where the processor family code is distributed in binary form only. Often software that runs on operating systems may be hardware dependent at first, but emulators can reduce dependencies for specific hardware.
Article summary
Hardware-dependent software (HDS or HdS), the part of an operating system that varies across microprocessor boards and is comprised notably of device drivers and of boot code which performs hardware initialization. HDS does not comprise code which is only specific to a processor family and can run unchanged on various members of it. The HDS is alternatively called the BSP, for Board Support Package, especially in the world of commercial operating systems where the processor family code is distributed in binary form only. Often software that runs on operating systems may be hardware dependent at first, but emulators can reduce dependencies for specific hardware.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.