Gateware is the data which describes the configuration of a Field-programmable gate array or similar programmable logic device. A field-programmable gate array or FPGA is a semiconductor device used to process digital information, similar to a microprocessor. ...
By analogy, software is to microprocessors as gateware is to FPGAs. Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ... Microprocessors, including an Intel 80486DX2 and an Intel 80386 A microprocessor (abbreviated as µP or uP) is a computer electronic component made from miniaturized transistors and other circuit elements on a single semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) (aka microchip or just chip). ... A field-programmable gate array or FPGA is a gate array that can be reprogrammed after it is manufactured, rather than having its programming fixed during the manufacturing — a programmable logic device. ...
Other terms
Gateware instances are often referred to as "bitstreams," although this word has numerous other meanings and can lead to confusion. A bitstream or bit stream is a time series of bits. ...