INTRODUCTION The bootloader is a very important part of embedded systems. It doesn’t always have to be present, but in most commercial embedded products it’s an essential component. Keep reading and I’ll explain why. A bootloader is essentially an additional piece of firmware, separate from our main application that we program into the device through a programmer (for example via JTAG) to handle very specific tasks like mainly updating the system so we don’t have to rely on JTAG programming once the device is deployed in the field. It’s often said that it’s the first piece of code executed by the microcontroller, which isn’t entirely accurate. What we (as users) typically flash is the User Bootloader. Meanwhile, the chip manufacturer usually preloads a…