Glossary

AMBA High-performance Bus

This is the second version of the bus protocol developed by ARM Ltd company for use in “System-On-Chip” (SoC) systems.

Analogue Hardware Description Language

It is a programming language used for description of analogue hardware by means of high level abstract equations.

ARM bus architecture

The on-chip bus developed by ARM Ltd company for organizing interaction between device elements built on the basis of processors manufactured by the company.

Application-Specific Integrated Circuit

Integrated circuits, designed for certain application area, additionally specialized for certain user and produced in series.

Application-Specific Standard Part

Bluetooth technology

Bluetooth was developed in 1998 for establishing cordless connection between devices of various types (mobile phones, laptops, computers, printers, digital cameras, etc) at short range and for data interchange between them.

Boundary Scan Description Language

BSDL is a subset of VHDL language and is used for testing electronic devices by means of JTAG.

C++ Programming Language

Universal high-level programming language developed by Bjarne Stroustrup at AT&T Bell Labs.

Computer-Aided Design

Technical-organizational system for creating geometrical models of devices that allows composing design and technological documentation.

Computer-Aided Industrial Design

Subsystem of computer-aided design (CAD) that includes software tools for industrial design and modeling.

Contract Electronics Manufacturer

Company providing services in manufacturing electronic equipment: circuit-board.

Common Gateway Interface

CGI is an interface of application programming for data interchange between client and server.

Complex programmable logic device

Such device contains relatively large programmable logical blocks – macrocells, connected to external outputs and internal buses.

Central Processing Unit

Processor of machine instructions, part of embedded system hardware that realizes the execution of basic work part on information processing – computational process.

Configurable System on Chip

Programmable SoC including configuration of external and internal interfaces, but not necessarily using configurable logic.

Design for Manufacture

Proactive technical-engineering works that consider product technological requirements and are aimed at optimizing manufacturing functions and assuring quality of the product.

Design for Test

Projecting with application of test structures.

Design for verification

It is a set of verification methodologies in design that allows developer to create and most effectively verify designed system-on-chips for detection of errors and their elimination.

Design Rule Checking

Design rule checking is applied to define whether the design of a particular schematic circuit, circuit board or chip meets the recommended design rules.

Digital Signal Processor

Specialized microprocessor designed for digital processing of signals.

Embedded Configurable operating system

eCos is an open-source, royalty-free, real time operation system designed for embedded systems and applications.

Electronic Design Automation

Different means designed for development and preparation to manufacturing of electronic schemes from circuit boards to microchips.

Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

EEPROM is a type of programmable read-only memory device that has non-volatile memory and is used in computers and other devices to store small amounts of volatile information.

Electronics Manufacturing Services

Companies providing services in series manufacturing of electronic devices.

Embedded Software

Embedded software is special-purpose software which is installed inside of some device, which it operates or which operation it controls.

Ethernet

Ethernet is a batch network technology for data transmission at different speeds in local area networks.

Field-Programmable Gate Array

FPGA contains logical elements and switching units.

Ferroelectric RAM

FRAM is a type of non-volatile RAM with the core made of ferroelectric crystals, which in their turn provide the possibility for non-volatile data storage.

General Purpose IO

GPIO devices, as a rule, have a set of IO ports, which are configured either for data input or output.

General Packet Radio Service

GPRS is the technology of quick packet radio data communication used in GSM networks, which allows data transmission at higher speed if compared to standard GSM technology.

Global Positioning System

GPS is the global satellite system for positioning current object location.

Global System for Mobile Communications

GSM is the most popular digital communication standard in the world.

Graphical User Interface

System for user interaction with electronic device; it is based on presentation of all available to user system objects and functions in the form of screen graphical components (windows, icons, menus, buttons, lists, etc).

Hardware Description Language

Hardware description language is any language from the class of computer languages used for description, modeling, designing and testing of electric circuits.

Hardware

Hardware is a set of electrical and mechanical devices that make part of a system or network.

iButton

iButton is an electric device of compact size, designed on the basis of special microchip and produced by Dallas Semiconductor.

Integrated Circuit

Electronic scheme of random complexity made on semiconducting crystal (or film/tape??) and placed into solid case.

Industrial Design

Integrated Development Environment

System of software tools used by programmers for software development. Usually development environment contains text editor, compiler and/or interpreter, assembly automation means and debugger.

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

Non-profit international organization for technologies development in electronics.

Intelligent Property Core

SoC projecting could be impossible, if one had to start every project from the very beginning. SoC projecting depends highly on multiple use of such IP units.

Industrial PC

Industrial PC is a special computer or computing platform designed for industrial application in heavy conditions.

InfraRed Data Association

IRDA is a universal standard for data transmission via IR port.

Instruction-Set Simulator

Industry standard architecture is a computer bus for IBM computers.

Java

Java is an object-oriented programming language from Sun Microsystems used for developing cross-platform applications, which work under web-browser control and are characterized by high interactivity.

Join Test Action Group

Interface of microchip electronics used for correcting errors, debugging and monitoring of processor’s work in some device, and also for testing sub-blocks of integrated circuits.

Liquid Crystal Display

Device on the basis of liquid crystals for displaying graphical information.

Media Access Control

MAC is a data communication protocol which defines logical network topology, provides access control mechanisms for the communication environment and addressing rules between different network objects.

Microcontoller unit

MCU is a type of single-chip microprocessor (computer-on-chip) created for control systems for various electric appliances (telephones, clocks, etc.) and devices, and also to control technological processes.

Modbus

Modbus is a serial communication protocol developed by Modicon in 1979.

Micro Processor Unit

MPU is the part of a computer which is responsible for processing commands sent by computer programs and data processing as well.

On Chip Debug

On-Chip Debug is hardware embedded into processor for software debugging.

Original Design Manufacturer

Companies providing services in manufacturing developed by them products under customer’s trade mark.

Original Equipment Manufacturer

This term is used to refer to a company that buys equipment produced by another company and then resells it under its own trade mark, usually as part of complex equipment it manufactures.

Organic Light Emitting Diode

Organic Light Emitting Diode consists of polymers capable of emitting light waves of different colors when electric voltage is fed.

Operating System

Main type of system software, program system, that provides control over computer hardware, files manipulation, data input/output, and also runs application programs and utilities.

Open SystemC Initiative

OSCI is an independent, non-profit organization that consists of a wide range of companies, universities, specialists and individuals with the aim to support and promote SystemC as an open source standard for system-level design.

Platform-Based Design

Platform-based design is a technology for creating microprocessor-based architecture that later can be applied for rapid development and verification of system-on-chip designs.

Printed Circuit Board

The board made of dielectric (textolite, turbonit, etc.), on which at least one conducting drawing is formed.

Peripheral Component Interconnect

System bus interaction with which is made without CPU participation.

Practical Extraction and Report Language

Perl is a general-purpose, freely distributed, interpreted programming language for working and modifying texts, files, processes.

PHP:Hypertext Preprocessor

PHP is a reflective, interpreted, multiplatform, server-side programming language used for creating web-applications.

Programmable Logic Device

Programmable Logic Device (PLD) is an electronic component used for creating digital circuits.

Python

Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming language with dynamic semantics.

Radio Frequency

Defines rate of electromagnetic frequencies, on which in one way or another information signal is modulated.

Radio Frequency Identification

RFID is a method of automatic identification, and also a technology of storing information about an object and data updating on a device called RFID tag or transponder by means of radio frequency electromagnetic emission.

Reduced Instruction-Set Computer

Typical features of processors with RISC architecture: fixed length of machine instructions (for example 32 bits) and simple command format; one instruction performs only one memory operation – read or write. “Read-modify-write” operations are missing; big quantity of general purpose registers (32 and more).

Rapid Prototyping

Technologies used for quick creating of samples or working models of case elements for demonstration or model adjustment before serial production.

Real Time Clock

Real-Time Operating System

The following is characteristic of such operating systems: secured response time on external events (interruptions from equipment); hard subsystem of process planning (high-priority tasks should not be replaced by low-priority ones, with some exceptions); advanced requirements to response time on external events or responsiveness (delayed call of interrupt handler not more than dozen of microseconds, delay in task switching not more than hundred of microseconds).

Ruby

Ruby is an interpreted, reflective, dynamic, object-oriented programming language used for server scripting, prototyping and solving usual programming tasks.

Specification and Description Language

SDL is a specification language applied for modeling behavior of reactive and distributed systems, whose behavior is defined by real-time events.

Serializer-Deserealiser

High speed serial interface. SERDES is a transceiver in an integrated circuit used in high-speed communication.

International System of Units

SI is the modern metric system of physical quantities that gained world-wide approval.

Stereolithography

This is a technology for making articles from materials that polymerize in the result of chemical reactions or have low hardening temperatures.

Selective Laser Sintering

This technology of rapid prototyping uses powerful laser for layer-by-layer sintering of filler particles and forming in this way volumetric structure.

Solid Modeling

The technology of CAD projecting that helps creating parameter-oriented models of products, ready for further prototyping and manufacturing of master-models and press-molds.

System on Chip

Complex integrated scheme that contains all basic functional elements of end product.

Stereolithography

Most developed and most precise technology of rapid prototyping. It is based on the principle of polymerization of photopolymerizational composition under laser emission.

Super-Twisted Nematic

STN display is a type of monochrome liquid crystal display.

Thin Film Transistor

TFT is a type of thin film field transistor used in technology of manufacturing liquid crystal displays.

Unified Modeling Language

It is industry standard in software development which is the visual language of third generation modeling, and which is oriented for creation of program system architecture.

Universal Serial Bus

USB (bus) represents a consecutive interface of data transmission for medium-speed and low-speed peripheral devices.

VHSIC Hardware Description Language

This is the basic language for hardware development of modern computing systems.

VMEbus

VME, or VMEbus is a standard computer bus with its own signaling system designed for connecting different electronic devices working in real-time mode.

Wireless Fidelity

Wi-Fi technology is a modern cordless communication and data communication technology by means of ultra-short radio waves.

ZigBee

ZigBee is an open global high-level standard used for deploying cordless communication networks between various electronic devices in user and industrial applications, automation systems.