bootstrapcode

noun
UK /ˈbuːt.stræp kəʊd/
US /ˈbuːt.stræp koʊd/

Code that helps a computer start itself up.

The tiny bootstrapcode wakes the computer so it can load the rest of the system.

SYNONYMS

boot codestartup codeloader codeinitialization code

RELATED WORDS

firmwarebootloaderBIOSstartup sequencekernel

OTHER MEANINGS

2. The first small program that loads a bigger program into memory.

The engineer wrote bootstrapcode to pull the main program from the disk.

3. Code that sets up a basic environment before the main software runs.

The bootstrapcode checks the memory and then hands control to the operating system.

4. A short piece of code used to begin a process that then builds itself up.

They used bootstrapcode to compile the compiler from scratch.