Firmbase SDK Overview

Firmbase® is a run-time operating environment that that runs in parallel with any OS or even without the foreground OS (as in the case of an OS crash situation). It supports the execution of 32-bit firmware applications in System Management Mode (SMM). The Firmbase kernel compresses to < 80KB in ROM.

The Firmbase SDK is a software development kit that provides ODMs and OEMs with the ability to embed Phoenix's Firmbase technology into application software that runs at the firmware layer in embedded designs. Once deployed in a running system, these ODM/OEM-written applications drive product distinction and add unique value to embedded product offerings.

Application development with the Firmbase SDK is straightforward, primarily because the power of Firmbase technology is in the way that applications run in the environment, not in thousands of API functions that could be defined. Firmbase's kernel is relatively simple compared to Windows® or Linux kernels, and it is largely the simplicity of the environment that makes it more reliable than huge commercial operating systems.

The Firmbase API

A rich API is exposed to Firmware Applications by the Firmbase kernel, providing threads, timers, mutex and event semaphores, deferred procedure calls (DPCs), virtual interrupts, power failure and restart notification, exception handling, multiprocessor spinlocks, memory management, and an I/O system with device and file objects.