In summary, this section has explained some of the “battery charger jargon” seen in various data sheets or heard when dealing with batteries. Once the “volts and amps” are decided for the charger, the next steps are: considering whether a linear or a switch mode charger is needed, considering whether the “power path” functionality is useful for the application, and considering whether a hardware-only or a software-controlled charger is appropriate. Like most engineering problems, the selection and design of a battery charger circuit relates to the tradeoff between cost, simplicity, and performance requirements.