My smartwatch runs a fat Java stack. My thermostat runs full fat Linux stack with a ton of services. My lightbulb runs fucking HTTP server for its REST API that controls it.
None of this is operates in any way remotely close to "malloc up front and never touch again." Nor do they operate with any sort of significant constraints vs. the typical app.
There are definitely things that do that. But even in the world of embedded it's a subset of things that do that.
Heck, the most software-constrained thing I have is probably the controller in my monitor. But then again that also runs Altera Arria V GX FPGA with 768MB of DDR3 RAM, which also definitely classifies as a niche area with highly specialized demands.
None of this is operates in any way remotely close to "malloc up front and never touch again." Nor do they operate with any sort of significant constraints vs. the typical app.
There are definitely things that do that. But even in the world of embedded it's a subset of things that do that.
Heck, the most software-constrained thing I have is probably the controller in my monitor. But then again that also runs Altera Arria V GX FPGA with 768MB of DDR3 RAM, which also definitely classifies as a niche area with highly specialized demands.