[fulafel]

It seems there are some conflicting ideas about what "embedded" means. For the conventional definition, if it's in a single function box that doesn't look like a computer, it's embedded. Even 20-30 years ago your laser printer might have had more CPU and memory than the computer connected to it, and it was considered embedded. ATMs are embedded too. MS sells "embedded" versions of Windows.

Maybe the industry would benefit from some more fine grained terminology here, perhaps call the small stuff MCU embedded?

[HeyLaughingBoy]

You are correct: I think the definition has been fixed in time even as the underlying meaning changed: I've programmed "embedded systems" that were based on x64-class processors.

But that's not the important part. I think one major problem is that the term "embedded" puts a lot of engineers into a frame of mind that rejects programming in anything high-level. We have done lots of projects where something like MicroPython would have been perfect, but every time I try to sell something like that, I get a bunch of excuses that really aren't grounded in any concrete objection and we go right back to twiddling bits in C.

[pjmlp]

Usually that is the same crowd that even refuses C99, or any other compiled language in alternative to C, even though there are vendors still in business selling such compilers.