Software friendly hardware for embedded systems

What is an ASIC?
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is an IC that is customised for a specific application (end product or a closely related family of end products), such as a chip which is designed to run a cellular handset.

What is an embedded system?
An embedded system refers to any electronic system that uses a CPU chip, but that is not a general-purpose workstation, desktop or laptop computer. Embedded systems generally use microprocessors, or sometimes custom-designed chips or both. It is used in various applications such as vehicles, machine tools and consumer electronics.

What is FPGA?
Short for Field-Programmable Gate Array, a type of logic chip that can be programmed. An FPGA is similar to a PLD, but whereas PLDs are generally limited to hundreds of gates, FPGAs support thousands of gates. They are especially popular for prototyping integrated circuit designs. Once the design is set, hardwired chips are produced for faster performance.