DMA DMA DMA is an important part of many embedded systems, yet far too many of us don't really understand it. No advertising, just down to earth embedded talk.
Acronyms are our special bane.
Every three word noun phrase is immediately shortened to its initials, even when this may make an acronym of an acronym. The passage of time dulls ones memory till the original words referred to by the letters slip away, so the acronym becomes its own word. Even names of corporations reflect our reliance on verbal shorthand. IBM, GE, SAIC - an alphabet soup of letters dances in front of our eyes. CACI even reincorporated themselves some years back to make the acronym the new, real corporate name, consigning the words the letters stood for to eternal obscurity.