<s>
A	O
programmer	B-General_Concept
,	O
device	O
programmer	B-General_Concept
,	O
chip	O
programmer	B-General_Concept
,	O
device	O
burner	O
,	O
or	O
PROM	B-General_Concept
writer	O
is	O
a	O
piece	O
of	O
electronic	O
equipment	O
that	O
arranges	O
written	O
software	O
to	O
configure	O
programmable	O
non-volatile	B-General_Concept
integrated	O
circuits	O
,	O
called	O
programmable	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
target	O
devices	O
include	O
PROM	B-General_Concept
,	O
EPROM	B-General_Concept
,	O
EEPROM	B-General_Concept
,	O
Flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
,	O
eMMC	O
,	O
MRAM	B-General_Concept
,	O
FeRAM	O
,	O
NVRAM	B-General_Concept
,	O
PLDs	O
,	O
PLAs	O
,	O
PALs	O
,	O
GALs	O
,	O
CPLDs	B-General_Concept
,	O
FPGAs	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
microcontrollers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Programmer	B-General_Concept
hardware	O
has	O
two	O
variants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
is	O
configuring	O
the	O
target	O
device	O
itself	O
with	O
a	O
socket	O
on	O
the	O
programmer	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
former	O
case	O
,	O
the	O
target	O
device	O
is	O
inserted	O
into	O
a	O
socket	O
(	O
usually	O
ZIF	B-General_Concept
)	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
programmer	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
device	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
standard	O
DIP	B-Algorithm
packaging	O
,	O
a	O
plug-in	O
adapter	O
board	O
,	O
which	O
converts	O
the	O
footprint	O
with	O
another	O
socket	O
,	O
is	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
latter	O
case	O
,	O
device	O
programmer	B-General_Concept
is	O
directly	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
printed	O
circuit	O
board	O
by	O
a	O
connector	O
,	O
usually	O
with	O
a	O
cable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
way	O
is	O
called	O
on-board	O
programming	O
,	O
in-circuit	B-Device
programming	I-Device
,	O
or	O
in-system	B-Device
programming	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Afterwards	O
the	O
data	O
is	O
transferred	O
from	O
the	O
programmer	B-General_Concept
into	O
the	O
device	O
by	O
applying	O
signals	O
through	O
the	O
connecting	O
pins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usually	O
device	O
programmers	B-General_Concept
are	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
through	O
a	O
parallel	O
port	O
,	O
</s>
<s>
USB	B-Protocol
port	O
,	O
</s>
<s>
or	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
software	O
program	O
on	O
the	O
computer	O
then	O
transfers	O
the	O
data	O
to	O
the	O
programmer	B-General_Concept
,	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
four	O
general	O
types	O
of	O
device	O
programmers	B-General_Concept
:	O
</s>
<s>
Automated	O
programmers	B-General_Concept
(	O
multi-programming	O
sites	O
,	O
having	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
sockets	O
)	O
for	O
mass	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
programmers	B-General_Concept
(	O
usually	O
single-programming	O
site	O
)	O
for	O
first	O
article	O
development	O
and	O
small-series	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pocket	O
programmers	B-General_Concept
for	O
development	O
and	O
field	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specialized	O
programmers	B-General_Concept
for	O
certain	O
circuit	O
types	O
only	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
FPGA	B-Architecture
,	O
microcontroller	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
EEPROM	B-General_Concept
programmers	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regarding	O
old	O
PROM	B-General_Concept
programmers	I-General_Concept
,	O
as	O
the	O
many	O
programmable	O
devices	O
have	O
different	O
voltage	O
requirements	O
,	O
every	O
pin	O
driver	O
must	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
apply	O
different	O
voltages	O
in	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
025	O
Volts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
progress	O
of	O
memory	O
device	O
technology	O
,	O
recent	O
flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
programmers	B-General_Concept
do	O
not	O
need	O
high	O
voltages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
days	O
of	O
computing	O
,	O
booting	B-Operating_System
mechanism	O
was	O
a	O
mechanical	O
devices	O
usually	O
consisted	O
of	O
switches	O
and	O
LEDs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
means	O
the	O
programmer	B-General_Concept
was	O
not	O
an	O
equipment	O
but	O
a	O
human	O
,	O
who	O
entered	O
machine	B-Language
codes	I-Language
one	O
by	O
one	O
,	O
by	O
setting	O
the	O
switches	O
in	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
"	O
on	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
off	O
"	O
positions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
positions	O
of	O
switches	O
corresponded	O
to	O
the	O
machine	B-Language
codes	I-Language
,	O
similar	O
to	O
today	O
's	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nowadays	O
,	O
EEPROMs	B-General_Concept
are	O
used	O
for	O
bootstrapping	B-Application
mechanism	O
as	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
no	O
need	O
to	O
operate	O
mechanical	O
switches	O
for	O
programming	O
.	O
</s>
