Hardware vs. Firmware

Hardwarenoun

Fixtures, equipment, tools and devices used for general-purpose construction and repair of a structure or object. Also such equipment as sold as stock by a store of the same name, e.g. hardware store.

Hardwarenoun

(informal) Equipment.

Hardwarenoun

(computing) The part of a computer that is fixed and cannot be altered without replacement or physical modification; motherboard, expansion cards, etc. Compare software.

Hardwarenoun

(technology) Electronic equipment.

Hardwarenoun

Metal implements.

Hardwarenoun

(slang) A firearm.

Hardwarenoun

Ware made of metal, as cutlery, kitchen utensils, and the like; ironmongery.

Hardwarenoun

Any of the physical objects used in carrying out an activity, in contrast to the knowledge, skill, or theory required to perform the activity; mostly used collectively.

Hardwarenoun

The sum of all the physical objects, such as the electrical, mechanical, and electronic devices which comprise a computer system; as, the typical PC hardware suite consists of a mainboard and a number of peripherals such as hard drives and speakers, connected by adapter cards, but the input and output from users occurs mostly through the keyboard and monitor; contrasted with software, the programs executed by the computer.

Hardwarenoun

The weapons, transport, and other physical objects used in conducting a war.

Hardwarenoun

Weapons, especially handguns, carried on the person; as, check your hardware at the door before entering.

Hardwarenoun

major items of military weaponry (as tanks or missile)

Hardwarenoun

instrumentalities (tools or implements) made of metal

Hardwarenoun

(computer science) the mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical components making up a computer system

Firmwarenoun

(computing) Something in between hardware and software. Like software, it is created from source code, but it is closely tied to the hardware it runs on.

Firmwarenoun

Software intended for such embedded computer applications.

Firmwarenoun

(computer science) coded instructions that are stored permanently in read-only memory

Firmware

In computing, firmware is a specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware. Firmware, such as the BIOS of a personal computer, may contain only elementary basic functions of a device and may only provide services to higher-level software.