TABLE OF CONTENTS Section II consists of five chapters that introduce the fundamental hardware components of an embedded board and show how these components function together. The information reflected in this chapter is not intended to prepare the reader to create a detailed board design, but it will provide an architectural overview of some of the most important elements of an embedded board, and information as to the function of these components. Chapter 3 introduces the major hardware components of an embedded board using the von Neumann model, the Embedded Systems Model, and real-world boards as references. Chapters 4 through 7 discuss the major hardware components of an embedded board in detail.
Wherever possible, the theoretical information introduced is directly related to actual embedded hardware, because it is the underlying physics of embedded hardware that directly impacts board design. Understanding the major hardware elements of an embedded board is critical to understanding the entire system's architecture, because ultimately the capabilities of an embedded device are limited or enhanced by what the hardware is capable of.
