Open source and Proprietary Software

Firmware

Firmware is software substituted for hardware and stored in read-only memory
Firmware technology has enabled production of various types of smart machines having microprocessor chips with embedded software

Middleware

Basic idea is to have a separate software layer to:
- Act as “glue” between client and server parts of application
- Provide programming abstraction
- Mask heterogeneity of underlying network, hardware, and OS
Encourages three-tier software architecture against two- tier popularized by Server-Client architecture