ARM is Embedded Computing

ARM defines "Embedded Computing" as equipment that performs computing functionality, yet is provided as a "black box"; preloaded applications, limited/no capability to expand hardware functionality and in some cases no screen.
Unlike PCs, system cost, power and form factor constraints often demand the use of Real-Time Operating Systems or Linux, to enable the platform to operate with less system memory.


Modern embedded designs have multiple processors, multiple caches, multiple threads handling graphics and files... and single-threaded file systems that have to handle all that data.
Using flash media, using a multi-threaded file system will eliminate this bottleneck and can give a solid performance improvement by allowing parallel access to files.
My next post will be a short post on the overall savings of the ARM instruction set, which ic based on High Proformanc and the useage of Low Power.


http://www.arm.com/products/processors/cortex-m/index.php

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x86 Uncommon in Embedded systems?

Although the 8086 was primarily developed for embedded systems and small single-user computers, largely as a response to the successful 8080-compatible Zilog Z80, the x86 line soon grew in features and processing power. Today, x86 is ubiquitous in both stationary and portable personal computers and has replaced midrange computers and RISC-based processors in a majority of servers and workstations as well. A large amount of software, including operating systems (OSs) such as DOS, Windows, Linux, BSD, Solaris, and Mac OS X supports x86-based hardware.

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ARM Architecture

ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit instruction set architecture in numbers produced.Originally conceived by Acorn Computers for use in its personal computers, the first ARM-based products were the Acorn Archimedes range introduced in 1987.

Acorn BBC

The relative simplicity of ARM processors makes them suitable for low power applications. As a result, they have become dominant in the mobile and embedded electronics market, as relatively low-cost, small microprocessors and microcontrollers. In 2005, about 98% of the more than one billion mobile phones sold each year used at least one ARM processor.As of 2009, ARM processors account for approximately 90% of all embedded 32-bit RISC processors, and are used extensively in consumer electronics, including personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, mobile phones, digital media and music players, hand-held game consoles, calculators and computer peripherals such as hard drives and routers.

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Instruction set architecture x86

ARM and x86 are  known as an instruction set architecture. This is the part of a computer processor related to programming. In essence, it's the translator that turns the code a machine is running into instructions a processor can understand and execute. These are very simple mathematical instructions that add, multiply, divide and etc, but billions are executed every second. The constant execution of instructions by the processor creates a functional computer.


ARM and x86 come from a similar original purpose, the creation of a powerful, flexible instruction set architecture that can be used on modern personal computers. The technologies made a clear split, however, when x86 won that space , ARM was nudged aside.

The term x86 refers to a family of instruction set architectures based on the Intel8086 CPU . The 8086 was launched in 1978 as a fully 16-bit extension of Intel's 8-bit based 8080 microprocessor and also introduced segmentation to overcome the 16-bit addressing barrier of such designs. The term x86 derived from the fact that early successors to the 8086 also had names ending in "86". Many additions and extensions have been added to the x86 instruction set over the years, almost consistently with full backward compatibility.The architecture has been implemented in processors from Intel, Cyrix, AMD, VIA, and many others.

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