How are Chinese toys programmed?

Question

Programming

There are Chinese sticks. One button, when pressed, it blinks, press again - it blinks faster, the third time the lights slowly turn on and off, and turn off on the 4th.

Having disassembled it, I did not see any resistors and transistors, etc. Only a small convex sphere:
an example

Tell us what it is, how it works and how they program them in millions of pieces?

Answer 1

This is a frameless microcontroller of the "Chinese snot" type. They are programmed in the same way as case-based ones - through a debugging interface such as JTAG.
Black crap is a compound , under it is a microcontroller crystal, which, in the case of case execution, is filled with plastic (or in a metal-ceramic case).
This was done to reduce the cost of production. As you can see, the option of soldering and the case option was initially provided.

Answer 2

it is an "integrated circuit" - essentially a sub-microcircuit. all transistors/resistors/capacitors are there, under this black dome. Programmed - hardly. more of an analog circuit.

Answer 3

easyelectronics.ru/author/di-halt/page/17
Read DiHalt's articles starting with the oldest entries.
He has an excellent introductory course there, starting with the basic principles of electronics and which soldering iron to choose and up to how it's all programmed, including not the most trivial things.