<s>
A	O
standalone	B-General_Concept
program	I-General_Concept
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
freestanding	O
program	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
that	O
does	O
not	O
load	O
any	O
external	O
module	O
,	O
library	O
function	O
or	O
program	O
and	O
that	O
is	O
designed	O
to	O
boot	B-Operating_System
with	O
the	O
bootstrap	O
procedure	O
of	O
the	O
target	O
processor	O
–	O
it	O
runs	O
on	O
bare	O
metal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
computers	O
like	O
the	O
ENIAC	B-Device
without	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
standalone	B-General_Concept
programs	I-General_Concept
were	O
the	O
only	O
way	O
to	O
run	O
a	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standalone	B-General_Concept
programs	I-General_Concept
are	O
usually	O
written	O
in	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
for	O
a	O
specific	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
standalone	B-General_Concept
programs	I-General_Concept
typically	O
were	O
provided	O
for	O
utility	O
functions	O
such	O
as	O
disk	B-Application
formatting	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
computers	O
with	O
very	O
limited	O
memory	O
may	O
use	O
standalone	B-General_Concept
programs	I-General_Concept
,	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
most	O
computers	O
until	O
the	O
mid-1950s	O
and	O
later	O
still	O
embedded	B-Architecture
processors	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standalone	B-General_Concept
programs	I-General_Concept
are	O
now	O
mainly	O
limited	O
to	O
SoC	B-Architecture
's	I-Architecture
or	O
microcontrollers	B-Architecture
(	O
where	O
battery	O
life	O
,	O
price	O
,	O
and	O
data	O
space	O
are	O
at	O
premiums	O
)	O
and	O
critical	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
extreme	O
cases	O
every	O
possible	O
set	O
of	O
inputs	O
and	O
errors	O
must	O
be	O
tested	O
and	O
thus	O
every	O
potential	O
output	O
known	O
;	O
fully	O
independent	O
[	O
separate	O
physical	O
suppliers	O
and	O
programing	O
teams ]	O
yet	O
fully	O
parallel	O
system-state	O
monitoring	O
;	O
or	O
where	O
the	O
attack	O
surface	O
must	O
be	O
minimized	O
;	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
would	O
add	O
unacceptable	O
complexity	O
and	O
uncertainty	O
(	O
examples	O
include	O
industrial	O
operator	O
safety	O
interrupts	O
,	O
commercial	O
airlines	O
,	O
medical	O
devices	O
,	O
ballistic	O
missile	O
launch	O
controls	O
and	O
lithium-battery	O
charge	O
controllers	O
in	O
consumer	O
devices	O
[	O
fire	O
hazard	O
and	O
chip	O
cost	O
of	O
approximately	O
10	O
cents ]	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Resource	O
limited	O
microcontrollers	B-Architecture
can	O
also	O
be	O
made	O
more	O
tolerant	O
of	O
varied	O
environmental	O
conditions	O
than	O
the	O
more	O
powerful	O
hardware	O
needed	O
for	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
;	O
this	O
is	O
possible	O
because	O
the	O
much	O
lower	O
clock	O
frequency	O
,	O
pin	O
spacing	O
,	O
lack	O
of	O
large	O
data	O
buses	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
