--- In l..., "jayasooriah" wrote:
>
> In the context of embedded targets, I found software upgrades using
> HyperTerm or Minicom (for both Windows and Linux) to be very
> convenient. It requires a level of computer literacy that does not
> appear to be a problem.
>

It all depends on the application and the type of system. It's fine for
low volume products used in controlled environments, or aimed at
technically literate users, but many (most?) embedded applications
don't fall into this category (e.g. phone, washing machine, engine
management system, set-top box etc.).

It's a matter of opinion, but one reason I'd recommend keeping the
download feature separate from the bootloader is that you can hide (or
expose) the feature and make it as complex or as simple as needed. The
built-in boot loader is fine for its purpose (to program the devices in
development environments and first-time programming in production), but
it's really not suited to in-field programming.

The model of simple loader that never changes, two images stored
locally and effective detection of corrupted or failed downloads can be
made incredibly reliable. If you make the boot loader itself
responsible for downloading the update, it tends to become complex (and
hence error prone) and you have to look at supporting upgrades to the
boot loader itself. This is very hard to do reliably.

But maybe I'm misreading what your system does?

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