from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
embedded system
<computer> Hardware and software which forms a component of
some larger system and which is expected to function without
human intervention.
A typical embedded system consists of a single-board
{microcomputer} with software in {ROM}, which starts running
some special purpose {application program} as soon as it is
turned on and will not stop until it is turned off (if ever).
An embedded system may include some kind of {operating system}
but often it will be simple enough to be written as a single
program. It will not usually have any of the normal
{peripherals} such as a keyboard, monitor, serial connections,
mass storage, etc. or any kind of user interface software
unless these are required by the overall system of which it is
a part. Often it must provide {real-time} response.
Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.arch.embedded.
(1995-04-12)